TREASURY

Airport Passenger Duty

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of Airport Passenger Duty on passenger numbers; and what assessment he has made of the merits of adjusting the level of such duty.

John Healey: HM Customs and Excise analysis indicates that the price elasticity of demand for changes in Air Passenger Duty (APD) duty rates is low, and air travel has proven relatively unresponsive to changes in price. My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced a freeze on air passenger duty for the year ahead in his recent Budget report. The Chancellor takes into account a range of social, economic and environmental considerations, including the effects of APD on passenger numbers, when setting levels of taxation.

Bereavement Grants

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 4 March 2005, Official Report, column 1402W, on bereavement grants, whether occupational pension schemes are permitted to pay a non-taxable bereavement grant voluntarily on the death of a pensioner member aged over 75.

Stephen Timms: Under the current pension tax regime an occupational pension scheme can make a tax-free lump sum payment on a pensioner member's death of up to £2,500. There is no age limit on when this payment can be made.
	From 6 April 2006, under the new simplified pension tax regime schemes can continue to pay lump sums on the death of a pensioner member unless the member is aged 75 or over when they die. In these cases survivors benefits must be paid in the form of income. Existing rights to a tax-free lump sum on death at age 75 or over on 6 April next year will be protected. Details are contained in the Inland Revenue Pensions Tax Simplification Technical Note that was published on 16 February 2004.

Censuses

John Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will instruct the Economic Secretary to the Treasury to provide substantive answers to Questions concerning decennial censuses after consulting the Registrar General;
	(2)  whether Treasury Ministers have used their powers under section 2(1) of the Census Act 1920 to control and direct the Registrar General since 1990;
	(3)  whether the necessary permission to retain the (a) 1981 and (b) 1991 census records for England and Wales in the Office for National Statistics once they are over 30-years-old has already been granted by the Lord Chancellor.

Stephen Timms: I am the Minister responsible for the population census. Day-to-day responsibility rests with the Registrar General, who is also the National Statistician.
	All Parliamentary questions to the Chancellor of the Exchequer are answered substantively. It has been the practice of successive Administrations for many years to delegate questions concerning the census to the Registrar General for answer by letter. All such letter answers are printed in the Official Report.
	The Registrar General undertakes his functions under section 2(1) of the Census Act 1920 and of any Census Order or Regulations made under the 1920 Act. His powers to carry out the census are subject to the control of, and in compliance with, any Ministerial direction by virtue of Section 2(2) of the 1920 Act. The Registrar General has regular meetings with the relevant Minister to discuss census-related issues. The Government's proposals for the 2001 Census were published in a White Paper (The 2001 Census of Population", Cm 4253) in March 1999. Parliamentary authority for the 2001 Census was subsequently given by virtue of the Census Order 2000 (SI 2000/744), the Census Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/1473), the Census (Amendment) Order 2000 (SI2000/3249), and the Census (Amendment) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/3351).
	I understand that no application has yet been made by the Registrar General to the Lord Chancellor, under the provisions of section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958, for him to retain the records from the 1981 or 1991 Censuses once they are over 30-years-old.

Child Benefit

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what rationale underlies his policy of not means-testing for receipt of child benefit.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 4 April 2005
	Child benefit is payable to every family in the UK in respect of each child. The Government believe it is right that society should recognise the importance of family life by providing financial support for every family with a dependent child.

Employment Rates

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assumptions of long-term employment rates for (a) men and (b) women underpin the Treasury's published figures on long-term fiscal trends.

John Healey: As required by the Code for Fiscal Stability", the Treasury publishes illustrative long- term fiscal projections as part of the Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report (EFSR). The long-term macroeconomic assumptions are stated in Annex A of the EFSR. Regarding long-term employment rates, Annex A of the 2005 EFSR states that:
	By assumption, employment is driven entirely by demographic trends. Specifically, with the overall employment rate assumed to remain constant from 2009–10 onwards, changes in employment levels reflect changes in the working-age population" (Budget 2005, page 178).
	No specific assumptions regarding the future evolution of male and female employment rates are made.
	In addition to the illustrative long-term fiscal projections, the Treasury also publishes the Long-term Public Finance Report (LTPFR) alongside the pre-Budget report. The baseline results of the 2004 LTPFR are also based on the assumption of an unchanged total employment rate beyond the medium term. In addition, the 2004 LTPFR (pages 33–37) presents results based on an alternative approach to projecting employment trends.

Environmental Taxes

Dave Watts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of environmental taxes (a) on manufacturing industries' competitiveness and (b) energy prices.

John Healey: The Government assesses the impact of environmental taxes against a range of social, economic and environmental factors, including impacts on competitiveness and energy prices, in the annual Budget process. As part of this, the Government have published an independent evaluation by Cambridge Econometrics of the climate change levy. This considers the environmental impact of the levy as well as its impact on the economy and energy prices. Copies are available from the House of Commons Library or the Customs and Excise website.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Joint Committee (ECC-Switzerland) on the simplification of inspections and formalities (and working party) met; when and where these meetings took place; which UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: I have been asked to reply.
	The EEC-Switzerland Facilitation of Controls and Formalities in Goods Transport Joint Committee meets annually in October. It met once under the Italian presidency, and once under the Dutch, both times in Brussels. The European Commission represented the European Community. No UK Government expert was present.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the EEC—European Free Trade Association Joint Committee and working parties met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: I have been asked to reply.
	There is no Committee with such a title. However, the Joint Committee of the European Economic Area, which is responsible for the ongoing management of the EEA Agreement, met on the following dates during the Italian, Dutch and Irish presidencies: in 2003 on 11 July, 26 September, 7 November, and 5 December. In 2004 it met on 6 February, 19 March, 23 April, 4 June, 9 July, 24 September, 29 October, and 3 December.
	The Joint Committee is assisted by four sub-committees. Subcommittee I met in 2003 on 1 July, 16 September, 14 October, and 25 November. In 2004 it met on 27 January, 2 March, 30 March, 11 May, 22 June, 14 September, 19 October, and 16 November. Subcommittee II met in 2003 on 2 July, 17 September, 15 October, and 26 November. In 2004 it met 29 January, 4 March, 1 April, 13 May, 24 June, 16 September, 21 October and 18 November. Subcommittee III met in 2003 on 4 July, 19 September, 17 October and 28 November. In 2004 it met on 29 January, 4 March, 1 April, 13 May, 24 June, 16 September, 21 October and 18 November. Subcommittee IV met in 2003 on 3 July, 16 September, 16 October and 27 November. In 2004 it met on 29 January, 4 March, 1 April, 13 May, 24 June, 16 September, 21 October and 18 November.
	All meetings took place in Brussels. The European Commission represents the European Community—UK Government experts do not normally attend.

TRANSPORT

Air Travellers (Financial Protection)

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with consumer organisations about the future of air traveller financial protection.

Charlotte Atkins: The Department has consulted widely with relevant stakeholders on the future financial protection of air travellers including the Air Transport Users' Council.
	The Department, in conjunction with the Civil Aviation Authority, held two industry stakeholder meetings to inform interested parties, including the Air Transport Users' Council, of the approach being taken to the economic modelling being undertaken to assess the impact of a range of options for the future financial protection of air travellers.

East Midlands Airport

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the (a) Civil Aviation Authority and (b) management of Nottingham East Midlands airport about the noise and air pollution effects of the two new flight paths over Leicestershire in and out of the airport.

Charlotte Atkins: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has primary responsibility for assessing airspace change proposals, in accordance with Directions and Guidance issued to them by the Secretary of State. Written details of the proposed new routes at Nottingham East Midlands airport (NEMA) were supplied to the Department, along with a detailed environmental assessment, and representatives from the CAA attended meetings with me and with my predecessor on this matter. The management of NEMA also presented the proposals to a meeting of local Members of Parliament, convened by my predecessor.

Government Transport Adviser (Aviation)

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what appointments procedure was followed for the appointment of Mr Rod Eddington as a transport adviser to the Government on aviation.

Charlotte Atkins: The Secretary of State for Transport and the Chancellor have appointed Rod Eddington to advise them on the longer-term impact of transport decisions on the UK's productivity, stability and growth.

Lighthouses

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contracts his Department has for maintenance work to be undertaken by (a) the Trinity House Lighthouse Service, (b) the Northern Lighthouse Board and (c) the Irish Lights; and what the financial value is of each.

David Jamieson: The General Lighthouse Authorities do not have any contracts to undertake maintenance work in the UK or Ireland for the Department for Transport.
	Trinity House Lighthouse Service does, however, carry out residual statutory responsibilities for the Colonial Lighthouse Service on behalf of the Department.

M6 Toll Road

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce the results of his consultation on the proposed new M6 Toll Road between Birmingham and Manchester; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Government is considering the response to the consultation and will respond in due course.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency Budget

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency budget was for (a) coastguards, (b) ship inspectors, (c) depots and (d) emergency towing vessels in each year since it was established.

David Jamieson: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency's expenditure is set out in the following table:
	
		Percentage
		
			  Coastguard Ship inspectors Accommodation Emergency towing vessels 
		
		
			 Resource accounts 
			 2003–04 13 6 6 10 
			 2002–03 13 5 6 11 
			 2001–02 13 5 6 7 
			 Cash accounts  
			 2000–01 14 5 8 8 
			 1999–2000 15 6 8 7 
			 1998–99 13 7 7 5 
		
	
	The resource accounts figures include depreciation and capital charge which are not included within the cash accounts outturns.

New Transport Schemes

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conditions his Department has set on the £1 billion offered to West Midlands local authorities for new transport schemes.

Charlotte Atkins: My colleague the Minister of State for Transport (Tony McNulty) wrote to the West Midlands Regional Assembly on 9 July 2003 setting out the Secretary of State's response to the West Midlands Area Multi-Modal Study. In that letter, the full text of which is available at http://www.go-wm.gov.uk/MultiModal/mms/wm, he set out the terms under which the Secretary of State would be prepared to consider making available up to £1 billion of capital funding for the West Midlands conurbation.

Operation Stack

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to replace Operation Stack on the M20; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Highways Agency is reviewing what improvements may be possible in the short and long term to reduce delays and disruption for travellers. These options include the modified use of Operation Stack, with and without contraflow working on the M20 London bound carriageway, and a possible lorry park for use as a holding area for HGVs waiting to travel to the continent.

Operation Stack

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the numberof journeys affected by Operation Stack on the M20.

David Jamieson: During 2004 Kent police activated Operation Stack on six occasions. Between 27 January and 29 March 2005 it has been necessary to implement Operation Stack on 17 occasions because of the difficulties with the docking facilities in Calais and the effects of industrial action in France.
	Kent police do not hold detailed records that show how many vehicles have actually been affected by the implementation of Operation Stack. However, there are approximately 23,000 vehicles per day travelling on the M20 between Junctions 11 and 12 on the coastbound carriageway (Phase one of Operation Stack) and approximately 30,000 vehicles per day travelling between Junctions eight and nine on the coastbound (Phase two of Operation Stack). When Operation Stack is implemented a large proportion of these vehicles would have to alter their route, change their travel plans and may experience a delay to their journey.

Transport Access (Disabled)

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to extend anti-discrimination legislation to make all public transport accessible to disabled people.

Charlotte Atkins: The Government are committed to an accessible public transport system in which disabled people have the same opportunities to travel as other members of society. We have already introduced regulations under part 5 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) to make all new trains, buses and coaches accessible and have announced our proposals for taxis. However, although associated infrastructure is covered, transport services are currently exempt from part 3 of the DDA which covers access to goods, services and facilities. The Government consider that to be an untenable position.
	Measures have been included in the Disability Discrimination Bill currently being considered by Parliament to allow for the removal of that exemption through regulations. We have completed consultation on draft regulations which would cover public transport—trains (including light rail, underground and trams), buses, coaches, taxis and private hire—vehicle hire, breakdown services and vehicles used in leisure and tourism transport services. Subject to the passage of the Bill, we intend to lift the exemption for those services in December 2006.

Transport Knowledge Partnership

Lewis Moonie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with the Department for International Development on the setting up of the Transport Knowledge Partnership; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport has not had discussions with the Department for International Development (DFID) on this issue. The global Transport Knowledge Partnership is an international initiative to increase the capacity of developing countries to share and apply knowledge and information for sustainable transport. DFID supports the initiative and has committed up to £2 million to it over a period of four years.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Middle East

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is encouraging the EU to take to further the middle east peace process.

Bill Rammell: We continue to work closely with the EU and other Quartet members on middle east peace process issues. The Commission and other EU partners attended the London Meeting on 1 March, and have been active in work to follow up that meeting. We will continue to support the work of the Commission, along with the World Bank and US, in their efforts to assist the Palestinian Authority implement its programme of reforms.

Middle East

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the transfer of Palestinian towns to the control of the Palestinian authorities.

Bill Rammell: The transfer of five West Bank cities to Palestinian Authority control is progressing as agreed at Sharm al-Sheikh. The handover of Jericho took place on 16 March, and that of Tulkarem on 21 March. We welcome the transfers and the improved security cooperation between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Middle East

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Prime Minister concerning the expansion of settlements on the West Bank.

Bill Rammell: We have frequently made clear to the Israeli Government our view that settlements are illegal under international law. The roadmap requires that Israel freeze settlement expansion and dismantle outposts erected since March 2001. My noble Friend Baroness Symons made representations on this issue to the Israeli ambassador on 23 March.

Darfur

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the continuing conflict in Darfur on the North-South Sudanese peace deal.

Chris Mullin: Full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is vital for peace in the whole of Sudan, including Darfur. However, the full benefits of a peace dividend for Sudan, including progress on debt relief, will not be realised until the conflict in Darfur is resolved. We are therefore pressing the parties in Darfur to negotiate a political settlement, consistent with the CPA.

Darfur

Hilton Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to persuade the Government of Sudan to allow access to conflict-affected populations in Darfur by non-governmental organisations and human rights organisations.

Chris Mullin: We regularly discuss with both the Government of Sudan and the rebels the importance of access for all non-governmental organisations throughout Darfur. Our Ambassador raised this matter with the Government on 21 March and I discussed this with the Secretary General of the Sudanese Liberation Movement on 22 March. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary secured access for human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, in August 2004. Lack of security is the key factor hampering access throughout Darfur. We have made it clear to the Government and the rebels that they must abide by their commitments under Abuja humanitarian and security protocols and improve the situation in Darfur.

Anti-Semitism

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Government-funded monitoring of anti-Semitic incitement in (a) the Middle East and (b) Eastern Europe.

Bill Rammell: The UK is committed to tackling discrimination and intolerance, including anti-Semitism. Incitement against any community may result in an increase in racial, religious or national tension.
	As part of its efforts to combat incitement, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is funding a project with the NGO index on censorship and BBC monitoring, to monitor incidents where the media has been either inciting conflict or raising tension, including on anti-Semitic grounds. The project, which began in 2004 and is expected to run for four years, focuses on four regions, including Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
	The outputs of the monitoring can serve as early warning of increasing tensions in a given region; and to highlight areas where action is needed by Governments or civil society to tackle hate speech and incitement.

Anti-Semitism

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made regarding anti-Semitic incitement to the Governments of (a) Iran, (b) Lebanon, (c) Syria and (d) Egypt.

Bill Rammell: We remain deeply concerned at continuing anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric from senior figures in the Iranian regime. Senior UK officials discussed this most recently with representatives of Iran's Supreme National Security Council on 2 February 2005. We have also pressed the Iranian authorities on many occasions to address international concerns about Iran's links to groups undermining the Middle East Peace Process through violence.
	We have raised the issue of anti-Semitism with the Lebanese, Syrian and Egyptian authorities in the past, but have not had occasion to do so recently.

Botswana

Donald Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the high commission in Gaborone has made to the Botswanan authorities concerning the threatened deportation of Professor Ken Good; and if he will make a statement on (a) academic freedom and (b) respect for human rights in Botswana.

Chris Mullin: Professor Good is an Australian national; as such, consular assistance is being provided by the Australian high commission in Pretoria. It is not our practice to offer consular assistance to foreign nationals.
	We have made clear to the authorities in Botswana, through our high commission in Gaborone, the importance that we attach to academic freedom and respect for human rights.

Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood of 21 February concerning refusal of a visit visa to Miss Sinclair Deona Marie, Case Ref KGN 64392.

Chris Mullin: A reply to my right hon. Friend will be sent shortly. I apologise for the delay.

Cote d'Ivoire

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) the UN and (b) France regarding (i) the security situation in Co(r)te d'Ivoire and (ii) the long-term strength of UN and French peacekeeping forces stationed there.

Chris Mullin: The UN Security Council discussed the situation in Co(r)te d'Ivoire on 28 March, including the UN Secretary-General's proposal to reinforce the UN mission there. Council members are now discussing the renewal of the mandates of the UN and French forces in Co(r)te d'Ivoire. We remain in close touch with our French counterparts in Paris, New York and Abidjan and with the UN Secretariat in New York about the security situation and the future mandates of the UN and French forces.

Cotonou Agreement

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the proposed inclusion of weapons of mass destruction clauses in the Cotonou agreements between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific states.

Denis MacShane: The Cotonou Agreement covers many aspects of the EU's relationship with the ACP group—trade, aid and political dialogue. The EU has agreed that such mixed agreements should reflect our common interest in non-proliferation of WMD as an issue of political dialogue. The EU has told the African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP) that
	financial and technical assistance in the area of counter proliferation of WMD will be financed from instruments other than those intended for the financing of ACP-EC cooperation"
	i.e. not from the European Development Fund or other EC thematic development lines.

Cyprus

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many properties builton occupied and misappropriated Greek Cypriot owned land in the northern part of the island of Cyprus have been purchased by citizens of the United Kingdom.

Denis MacShane: The Government does not have access to that information. It is a matter for private individuals, acting upon appropriately qualified legal advice.
	However, I welcome this opportunity to give further publicity to the relevant advice on our website (www.fco.gov.uk), to the effect that:
	Before purchasing property anywhere in Cyprus you are strongly advised to seek independent qualified legal advice.
	Property issues are closely linked to the political situation. The non-recognition of the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' and the possibility of a future political settlement in Cyprus could have significant practical or financial implications for those considering buying property in the north. There is also a risk that purchasers would face legal proceedings in the courts of the Republic of Cyprus. Separately, there are specific rules for foreigners purchasing property in the north and you should ensure you are fully aware of these."

Departmental Structures

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2005, Official Report, column 215W, on departmental structures, how many staff there are in the Presidency Unit within the Europe Directorate; and what the unit's (a) programme budget and (b) staffing budget is in 2005–06.

Denis MacShane: The Presidency Team in the European Directorate currently consists of 12 members of staff. A thirteenth is being recruited to reach our full complement to meet projected staffing requirements for the duration of the Presidency. Staffing for the unit is being covered through re-prioritisation but is costed at £438,692 for financial year 2005–06.
	Although budget allocations are yet to be finalised, the budget for programme spend is currently projected to be £6,732,000 in 2005–06.

Departmental Structures

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2005, Official Report, column 216W, on departmental structures, what the (a) remit, (b) programme budget and (c) staffing budget for 2005–06 are of (i) the EU Economic Reform and Analysis Unit, (ii) the Agenda 2007 Unit, (iii) the International Trade Team and (iv) the EU Forward Planning Unit.

Denis MacShane: The Economic Reform and Agenda 2007 Units are principally charged with winning support among our EU partners for UK views on, respectively, European economic reform and the EU's future financing negotiations (Agenda 2007). These two units and the Forward Planning Unit are also responsible, between them, for the UK's bilateral relations with Ireland and with the five new EU member states from central Europe. The Forward Planning Unit is, in addition, responsible for relations with the EU institutions. The International Trade Team's principal task is winning support among EU and World Trade Organisation partners for the UK's international trade policy objectives. All four units work closely with other Government Departments.
	Staffing levels in the different units vary as staff arrive and depart and they are moved to priority work. But the current staffing budgets for the units, based on average grade costs, are:
	
		£
		
			  Staffing budgets 
		
		
			 EU Economic Reform and Analysis Unit 191,000 
			 Agenda 2007 Unit 195,000 
			 International Trade Team 186,000 
			 EU Forward Planning Unit 159,000 
		
	
	None of the units currently has a free-standing programme budget.

EU Presidency

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 592W, on the EU presidency, what public-facing activities the Government plan to undertake in relation to the UK presidency of the EU.

Denis MacShane: The Government are committed to informing and involving the public on the Government's policies and issues relating to the UK presidency of the EU.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office plan to be involved in a range of public communication activities during the presidency including the presidency website, regional advertising, leaflets, public discussions and media relations. These activities are currently in the planning stages but all UK presidency events will be listed on the official website.
	Other Government Departments are responsible for organising their own communication activities relating to their policies during the presidency.

EU Presidency

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 592W, on the EU presidency, if he will make a statement on the types of public information that the Government intend to provide in relation to the UK presidency of the EU.

Denis MacShane: The Government are committed to providing public information during our presidency. We plan to provide information relating to the presidency and its priorities through the official website (including documents, statements and speeches), as well as more proactive communication such as advertising, leaflets and media relations.

EU Presidency

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 592W, on the EU presidency, which team within his Department's Europe Directorate will be responsible for the budget for provision of public information on the UK presidency of the EU.

Denis MacShane: A dedicated resource unit within the presidency team of the EU Directorate at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been set up with responsibility for managing the FCO's presidency budget.

EU Presidency

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 592W, on the EU presidency, if he will break down the costs of the UK presidency of the EU by activity.

Denis MacShane: I refer my hon. Friend to my reply of 21 March in which I said that final figures are not yet available for 2005–06. However, using provisional allocations where necessary, spending over the 18-month planning period and the 6-month operational period of the presidency currently breaks down as follows:
	
		£
		
			  Spending 
		
		
			 Official meetings (including the Gymnich and European councils) 5.91 million 
			 Administration (including human resources and training) 3.85 million 
			 Official presidency website 388,000 
			 Public information and communication 350,000 
			 Total provisional budget 10.56 million 
		
	
	There may be some variation in final spending patterns.

EU Presidency

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 592W, on the EU presidency, what the budget was for public-facing activities for the previous UK presidency of the EU.

Denis MacShane: Expenditure for public-facing activities for the previous UK presidency of the EU in 1998 is recorded as being £521,359.35.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what factors informed his choice for the question in the referendum on the EU Constitution.

Denis MacShane: The question was drafted bearing in mind the Electoral Commission's published guidelines, which are designed to ensure that a question is intelligible. The Electoral Commission's published views on the noble Lord, Lord Blackwell's Private Member's Bill of July 2004 were also taken into account. The wording of the question was agreed collectively at ministerial level.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect, when compared with existing rules, of the new qualified majority voting rules contained within the EU Constitutional Treaty on the ability of the UK Government to prevent EU legislation being passed.

Denis MacShane: The Government do not believe the new voting arrangements in the EU Constitutional Treaty represent a significant change in the UK or other member states' powers. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Commentary on the Treaty (Cm 6459) provides a detailed analysis in the changes in voting rules which would be introduced by the EU Constitutional Treaty if it were to come into force. In addition, the treaty would give national parliaments a direct say in the EU's law-making procedures for the first time.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the changes to the qualified majority voting rules of the EU within the Constitutional Treaty in terms of Coleman's measure of the power to block legislation.

Denis MacShane: None. The implications of the new voting rules were fully and properly assessed with regard to UK interests, including the UK interest in the effective operation of the EU.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is his policy that failure by (a) the UK, (b) France and (c) the Netherlands to ratify the Constitution for Europe should lead to a presumption that that State (i)would and (ii) should withdraw from the European Union.

Denis MacShane: No. That will depend on each member state.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Central Office of Information regarding public information on the Constitution for Europe.

Denis MacShane: In line with normal government practice, the Central Office of Information has been commissioned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to work with them on their on-going communications work on the EU and the proposed EU Constitutional Treaty.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2005, Official Report, column 219W, on the European Constitution, what the (a) civil service grades and (b) job description are of the 14 members of the EU Constitution team within his Department's Europe Directorate.

Denis MacShane: Further to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Mr. Hopkins) on 3 March 2005, Official Report, column 220W, following normal recruitment procedures there are now 15 staff in the EU Constitution Team. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office grades are:
	1D7; 2D6; 1C5; 4C4; 3B3; 2A2; 2Al.
	The team consists of a Team Leader, a Policy and Communications Manager, a Bill Manager, an officer responsible for communications strategy, three officers responsible for communications, publications and policy, an officer responsible for the EU Bill, an officer responsible for Parliament, an officer responsible for regional visits and media and an officer responsible for polling. There are four support officers at the Band A grade.

European Constitution

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2005, Official Report, column 219W, on the European Constitution, how he intends to estimate public demand for distribution of the text of the EU Constitutional Treaty; and what assessment he has made of the cost of such a distribution.

Denis MacShane: The text of the EU Constitutional Treaty and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Commentary on the Treaty are available free at www.europe.gov.uk. The full text and commentary have also been made available to all central libraries in the UK, and are available to members of the public on request from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. No assessment has yet been made of demand for further distribution and related costs.

European Constitution

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts regarding the progress being made in EU national Parliaments towards ratification of the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I continue to have informal discussions with his EU counterparts on the progress being made in EU national Parliaments towards ratification of the EU constitutional treaty.

European Constitution

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what forthcoming publications relating to the EU constitution are planned by his Department.

Denis MacShane: Decisions have not yet been made on forthcoming publications on the EU constitutional treaty. Current publications relating to the treaty include the Guide to the EU and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Commentary on the Treaty and are available at www.europe.gov.uk.

European Council

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the European Council has taken decisions by majority vote since 1997.

Denis MacShane: No.

Free Press

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's policy is on the promotion of a free press overseas.

Bill Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) continues to work both bilaterally and with our international partners to promote freedom of expression. We do this through lobbying on individual cases and wider human rights issues, and through projects supported through the Global Opportunities Fund.
	The FCO's Freedom of Expression Panel, which I chair, includes representatives of NGOs, academic experts and legal and media professionals. It meets regularly to provide expert advice and guidance to the FCO. The panel has sub-groups working on hate speech; safety and risk management for media professionals; public sector broadcasting laws and imprisoned journalists/writers. Further details of FCO work on this subject can be found in the FCO's Annual Report on Human Rights 2004 (Command Paper Cm 6364), a copy of which is available in the Library of the House, and which can be found on the FCO website, www.fco.gov.uk.

Galileo Navigation System

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the United States Administration regarding the European Union's Galileo navigation system.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with the US Administration regarding Galileo. However officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other Government Departments are regularly in touch with their US counterparts on Galileo—contacts were particularly frequent in the run-up to the EU-US Agreement on Galileo of June last year. The Department for Transport is the lead Government Department for Galileo.

Iran

Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations with Iran.

Bill Rammell: Our policy towards Iran remains one of constructive, but critical and conditional, engagement. The European Union has made clear that the development of its relations with Iran is possible only on the basis of action by Iran to address political concerns, in areas such as its nuclear programme, human rights record, approach to terrorism, and attitude to the middle east peace process.

Iraq

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what account was taken of Article 64 of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the appointment of the Iraqi Special Tribunal.

Bill Rammell: Article 64 of the Fourth Geneva Convention would not apply to the establishment of the Iraq Special Tribunal (IST) or any appointment of the IST because it was established by the Iraqi Governing Council and not by an Occupying Power. It is part of the Iraqi criminal justice system and comprises of Iraqi judges.

Irish Lights

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from the Northern Ireland Office regarding the cessation of payments from the UK General Lighthouse Fund for the provision of navigational aids in Irish territorial waters.

Denis MacShane: None.

Israel

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Israeli authorities on the plans of the IsraeliGovernment to build more homes on the West Bank.

Bill Rammell: We have made frequent representations to the Israeli government expressing our concern over continued settlement activity. We have made clear our view that settlements are illegal under international law. The Roadmap requires that Israel freeze all settlement expansion and dismantle outposts erected since March 2001. Most recently my right hon. and noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, met the Israeli Ambassador in London on 23 March. Baroness Symons expressed our concern at Israel's plans to build 3,500 more homes between the West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem.

Middle East

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the political impact on (a) Jordan, (b) Syria, (c) Israel, (d) Palestine and (e) Iran of the recent conflict in Iraq.

Bill Rammell: We closely monitor the political situation in the Middle East. The fall of Saddam Hussein's regime removed the threat he posed to Iraq's neighbours.
	For Syria, the conflict gave rise to the movement of numbers of Iraqis across Syria's borders. There is evidence that some Syrian extremists have travelled to Iraq to take part in the insurgency. Syria appears to be the principal route for insurgents entering Iraq and continues to support former Iraqi regime elements who are based in Syria. We have repeatedly raised our concerns about these issues with the Syrian Government, and will continue to do so.
	For Iran, the removal of Saddam's Government has created an opportunity to re-establish Iran/Iraq relations on a more positive footing. A stable and prosperous Iraq is in the best interests of Iran as well as the wider region. We have encouraged Iran to play a constructive role and to support Iraqi efforts to preserve security. We have made clear our concern at the alleged links between elements of the Iranian regime and armed groups in Iraq who have sought to undermine the rule of law.
	For Jordan, the conflict gave rise to the movement of numbers of Iraqis across Jordan's borders. Since the conflict ended, Jordan has provided political support and practical assistance to Iraq.
	The conflict has had less direct effect on Israel and Palestine, although a source of funds for some Palestinian groups has dried up with the removal of Saddam Hussein. In recent months the Israeli and Palestinian focus has been directed internally towards the Palestinian elections and disengagement.
	Successful elections were held in Iraq on 30 January. The formation of a democratically elected Iraqi Government should have a further positive impact on stability in the region.

Middle East

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what programmes his Department is undertaking to promote political reform in the Middle East.

Bill Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's main programme tool for supporting reform in the Middle East is the Engaging with the Islamic World programme under the Global Opportunities Fund. It currently supports 44 programmes in the Middle East and North Africa region. From this financial year we are doubling the programme's budget to £8.5 million. We also have a number of other programmes, such as the Global Conflict Prevention Pool, sponsored themed visits and scholarships, which contribute to our policy of supporting regionally-led reform.

Middle East

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the work of the EU on (a) governmental transparency and (b) anti-corruption mechanisms in the Middle East; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: My Department has made no specific assessment of the work of the EU on governmental transparency and anti-corruption mechanisms in the Middle East. But the UK's national contribution to the 10-year Review of the Barcelona Process argues that theEU and Mediterranean Partner countries should set long-term governance targets in order, among other things, to promote greater transparency in policy making and to counter corruption across the EuroMed region. We believe that such targets should be incorporated into the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plans with Mediterranean Partner countries. And we will continue to press the EU to incorporate the principles of the EU Strategic Partnership with the Mediterranean and the Middle East as it develops its relations with other countries in the region.

Mr. Nick Baker

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department has received concerning the state of health of Mr. Nick Baker who is in prison in Japan; andwhat discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with Japanese officials concerning Mr. Baker's case.

Chris Mullin: Our embassy in Japan and the Consular Directorate in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) are monitoring Mr. Baker's case closely, including his state of health. Embassy officials have discussed health issues with Mr. Baker during consular visits and raised them with Japanese officials where necessary. For reasons of consular confidentiality we cannot reveal detailed information about Mr. Baker's health.
	The FCO is also monitoring Mr. Baker's appeal against his conviction, which is continuing in the Japanese courts. Embassy officials raise Mr Baker's case with the Japanese authorities whenever appropriate.
	The FCO remains in touch with Mr. Baker and his family and will inform them of any developments in his case.

Nuclear Proliferation

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the report Multilateral Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle: Expert Group Report, submitted to the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, INFCIRC/640, 22 February; and whether he plans to adopt its recommendations in United Kingdom submissions to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May in New York.

Denis MacShane: The report represents a preliminary assessment of the options for strengthening the proliferation resistance of the civil nuclear fuel cycle, while assuring supply of fuel for peaceful civil nuclear purposes: We believe it is a valuable contribution to the debate. We will, as the report recommends, be investigating the practicality, feasibility and usefulness of the approaches it sets out. We will continue to take an active part in the debate.

Nuclear Proliferation

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the oral answer of 1 March 2005, Official Report, column 805, on Iran, which part of Article 2 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty allows the United Kingdom to hold nuclear weapons.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, in answer to my hon. Friend's oral question of 1 March, stated that the United Kingdom was allowed to hold nuclear weapons under Article 2 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and that non-nuclear weapon states were defined as such by Article IV of the Treaty. The correct position on the definitions of the articles and our obligations under the treaty articles is set out in my reply to my hon. Friend on 15 March 2005, Official Report, columns 222–23W.

Nuclear Proliferation

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the United Kingdom has made representations to any non-nuclear weapons states in respect of the development or operation of (a) spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, (b) uranium enrichment plants and (c) separated plutonium stores.

Denis MacShane: The UK, as a State Party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), upholds the inalienable right of non-nuclear weapon states to thepeaceful use of nuclear energy under Article IV of the Treaty, in conformity with Articles I and II of the Treaty. The UK also seeks to uphold, and is committed to, all other Articles of the Treaty. It actively participates in and promotes, in the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Nuclear Suppliers Group and other relevant for a such as the G8, compliance with the international nuclear non-proliferation obligations set out in the NPT and other international instruments.

Syria/Lebanon

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of whether Syria's recent troop deployment is compliant with United Nations Security Council resolution 1559; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The ongoing redeployment of Syrian troops to the Beka'a Valley and withdrawal of some to Syria is a first step in the implementation of UNSCR 1559. Among other terms, the resolution requires all Syrian forces, including intelligence and security personnel, to withdraw from Lebanon. The Government notes the undertaking made by Syrian Foreign Minister Shara'a's letters of 29 March 2005 to the UN Secretary General and the President of the UN Security Council to withdraw all Syrian troops from Lebanon by May.

Uranium Enrichment Facilities

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the possibility of limiting uranium enrichment and reprocessing plants to countries that already have the facilities.

Denis MacShane: The Government is committed to ensuring that sensitive nuclear items, such as enrichment and reprocessing plants, which have clear proliferation potential, are not exported to states that may seek to use them for weapons purposes.
	Recognising this, the UK is committed to strengthening the Nuclear Suppliers Group Guidelines, which control the export of such equipment, with a series of tough criteria that a recipient state must adhere to in order to receive such transfers. This will provide suppliers of nuclear items with adequate assurances that transferred items will not be used for non-peaceful purposes. The criteria are relevant whether or not the recipient state is in possession of equipment and reprocessing facilities.

Western Sahara

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has held with the (a) UN, (b) Polisaro Front and (c) Government of Morocco on holding a referendum on the future of the Western Sahara.

Bill Rammell: UK officials hold regular discussions with the parties to the Western Sahara dispute and UN officials. These focus on ensuring that the UN process leads to a fair and lasting solution to this dispute that provides the people of the Western Sahara with an opportunity to exercise their right to self-determination.

Written Ministerial Statements

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has concluded his discussions with ministerial colleagues on the provision of written ministerial statements prior to and following all Council of Ministers' meetings to provide details of the meeting's agenda and its outcomes; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: After consultation with ministerial colleagues, I made proposals to provide written ministerial statements prior to and following all Council of Ministers meetings to the chairs of the Commons European Scrutiny and Lords EU Select Committees. The proposals were generally well-received.
	I am now in the process of reporting back the Committees' views to ministerial colleagues. I will announce any new initiative for reporting on Council of Ministers meetings by way of a written ministerial statement.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she will reply to the letter dated 16 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to John Gilburn.

Richard Caborn: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 3 April.

Digital Switchover

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assistance the Department plans to give to those on low incomes to obtain the necessary equipment in advance of digital switchover.

Estelle Morris: As the Charter Review Green Paper makes clear, the vast majority of citizens will need only a source of good information to help them through switchover. However, we are working with the BBC and others to assess the scope of measures required to ensure the interests of the most vulnerable customers are protected.

Licensing

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make a statement on the application of the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003 to alcohol wholesalers who rent their business space.

Richard Caborn: Under the 2003 Act, sales of alcohol which are made to traders for the purposes of their trade, including another wholesaler, or to holders of club premises certificates, premises licences or personal licences, or premises users who have given temporary event notices for the purpose of making sales authorised by these permissions or notices, are not licensable. However a sale, not in the class above, made to a member of the public, even if in wholesale quantities, will become a licensable activity under the 2003 Act when it is fully operational. A premises licence would therefore be required for the premises where the alcohol is stored prior to despatch if any of the alcohol is to be dispatched to the public, whether or not the business space was rented. In addition under the 2003 Act no supply of alcohol, in retail or wholesale quantities to the public, may be made unless it is made or authorised by a person who holds a personal licence.

UK Sport

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many other public and Government advisory appointments are held by the new Chair of UK Sport.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 24 March 2005
	Sue Campbell has since 2000 been a specialist adviser to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport as a part-time unremunerated appointment. She holds no other public appointments.

Yorkshire Tourism Board

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been granted to the Yorkshire Tourism Board in each year since 1996.

Richard Caborn: In 2004–05 Yorkshire Forward provided funding to the Yorkshire Tourist Board of £503,258 to cover its core operational costs.
	In 2003–04 the final figure for core operational costs was £685,466.
	In addition to core funding, Yorkshire Forward provided funding to the Yorkshire Tourist Board of £217,437 in 2003–04 and £2,360,161 in 2004–05. This was for a range of services including marketing, e-tourism and data.
	For the previous years figures I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 21 October 2004, Official Report, column 823W.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Antisocial Behaviour Orders (North Yorkshire)

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General what recent discussions she has had with the Crown Prosecution Service on breaches of antisocial behaviour orders in North Yorkshire.

Harriet Harman: I refer the hon. Member to the oral answer I gave on 24 March 2005, Official Report, column 999.

Departmental Policies

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will set out, with statistical information relating as closely as possible to the constituency, the effect of the actions and policies of the Law Officers' Department on Blackpool, South constituency since (a) 1997 and (b) 2001.

Harriet Harman: Since 1997 the Government has embarked on a programme of reform in the criminal justice system to deliver justice for all by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent.
	Statistics are not maintained at a constituency level but I can provide information on Lancashire as a whole. The introduction of the statutory charging scheme in June 2004 has already brought benefits in reducing the number of cases which fall out of the system after charge. The figures have fallen from 23.4 per cent. in 2002–03 to 17.2 per cent. in 2004–05 to date.
	A Witness Care Unit has been established at Blackpool in furtherance of the No Witness No Justice initiative. This is already having an impact on the number of ineffective trials, particularly in the Crown court.
	Lancashire has one of 14 specialist antisocial behaviour prosecutors in the country. The CPS work closely with other agencies to address antisocial behaviour and 37 orders on conviction were granted in Lancashire between November 2004 and February 2005.

Departmental Policies

Peter Pike: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Burnley constituency, the effects on Burnley of her Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Harriet Harman: Since 1997 the Government has embarked on a programme of reform in the criminal justice system to deliver justice for all by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent.
	Statistics are not maintained at a constituency level but I can provide information on Lancashire as a whole. The introduction of the statutory charging scheme in June 2004 has already brought benefits in reducing the number of cases which fall out of the system after charge. The figures have fallen from 23.4 per cent. in 2002–03 to 17.2 per cent. in 2004–05 to date.
	Three new witness care units have been established in Lancashire, one of which is situated in Burnley. These units are already making a contribution towards the reduction in the percentage of ineffective trials, particularly in the Crown court.
	Lancashire has one of 14 specialist antisocial behaviour prosecutors in the country. The CPS work closely with other agencies to address antisocial behaviour and 37 orders on conviction were granted in Lancashire between November 2004 and February 2005. Burnley is one of two new action areas within Lancashire and the specialist prosecutor will be establishing close working relationships with the relevant crime and disorder reduction partnerships, and with Burnley council's community safety department to determine how the CPS can contribute more to reducing antisocial behaviour in the area.

Departmental Policies

Brian Sedgemore: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Folkestone and Hythe constituency, the effects on Folkestone and Hythe of the Law Officers' Department policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Harriet Harman: Since 1997 the Government have embarked on a programme of reform in the criminal justice system to deliver justice for all by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent.
	Statistics are not maintained on a constituency level. For Kent as a whole the statutory charging scheme was introduced in May 2004. This has had a significant impact on the number of cases which fall out of the criminal justice system after charge with an improvement from 18.3 per cent. in 2002–03 to 15.4 per cent. in 2004–05 to date.
	Within Kent there are nine Witness Care Units, the introduction of which should have an impact on the numbers of ineffective trials in both the magistrates courts and the Crown court.
	Kent has one of 14 specialist antisocial behaviour prosecutors. The prosecutor contributes substantially tointer-agency working and 21 Orders on conviction were granted in Kent between November 2004 and February 2005.

Departmental Policies

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Kingston upon Hull North constituency, the effects on Kingston upon Hull North of her Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Harriet Harman: Since 1997 the Government has embarked on a programme of reform in the criminal justice system to deliver justice for all by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent.
	Statistics are not maintained at constituency level, but within the Humberside area, the introduction of statutory charging in August 2004 has already had an impact, reducing the level of cases which fall out of the system after charge. The current figures for the year to date are 13.3 per cent. as against 17.9 per cent. in 2002–03.
	The CPS is also working with other agencies in this area to tackle antisocial behaviour. Between November 2004 and February 2005 16 antisocial behaviour orders on conviction have been granted in Humberside.

Departmental Policies

Brian Sedgemore: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Maidenhead constituency, the effects on Maidenhead of the Law Officers' Department policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Harriet Harman: Since 1997 the Government have embarked on a programme of reform in the criminal justice system to deliver justice for all by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent.
	Statistics are not maintained on a constituency level, but within Thames Valley the statutory charging scheme was adopted in September 2004. This has already had an impact on the number of cases which fall out of the system after charge with an improvement from 29.9 per cent. in 2002–03 to 25.7 per cent. in the current year to date.

Departmental Policies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency, the effects on Preseli Pembrokeshire of her Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997.

Harriet Harman: Since 1997 the Government has embarked on a programme of reform in the criminal justice system to deliver justice for all by convicting and punishing the guilty and helping them to stop offending, while protecting the innocent.
	Statistics are not maintained at a constituency level, but within the Dyfed Powys area, the introduction of a statutory charging scheme has already had an impact on the number of cases falling out of the criminal justice system after charge. There has been a reduction from 21.2 per cent. to 17.3 per cent. since 2002–03.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Coastal Action Zone

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment has been made of the impact of the Coastal Action Zone initiative in East Lincolnshire; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: My right hon. Friend the Lord Rooker was involved in the formal launch of the Coastal Action Zone (CAZ) at Whitehall in December 2004.
	I understand that since then the CAZ members have been considering priorities and potential activities. Officials from the Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM) are involved in these discussions. It is very much early days. No impact assessment has been made by the Government but GOEM continue to follow developments with interest.

Departmental Budget

George Osborne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the planned (a) capital and (b) resource budget for his Department is for 2011–12.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Mr. Timms) on 4 April 2005, Official Report, column1170W.

Deregulation

John Redwood: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many regulations have been repealed by his Department since 1st October 2004.

Yvette Cooper: 33 Regulations or Orders classified as general have been wholly revoked and five have been partially revoked.

Firefighters' Pensions

Win Griffiths: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many divorced spouses given a share of a retired firefighter's pension in each of the last three years did not receive it because they were under the qualifying pension age; and how much this saved the pension fund in immediate payments in each year.

Nick Raynsford: The firefighters' pensions scheme is administered by individual Fire and Rescue Authorities, so this information is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Firelink Radio System

John Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he expects to announce a decision on the selection of a contractor for the Firelink radio system.

Nick Raynsford: The announcement is expected in June 2005.

Firelink Radio System

John Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how long after receipt of the best and final offer submission from the bidding contractors he would expect to wait before making a decision on the selection of a contractor for the Firelink radio system.

Nick Raynsford: Upon receipt the best and final offer submissions will be evaluated with a final decision expected in June 2005.

Housing

Anthony Steen: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many acres of vacant, dormant, unused and under-utilised land are owned by his Department; and if he will estimate the number of homes that could be built on the land if it was made available.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has six unused sites which total 1.8 acres. Of these:
	One site (0.07 acre) is subject to a Planning Obligation under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and is therefore not available for development.
	One site (0.038 acre) is considered too small to have development potential.
	Two sites (total 0.42 acre) which are close to each other are surrounded on three sides by roads and motorways. The local authority position is that the land forms a special landscaped area and that development would not be appropriate.
	Two sites (total 1.25 acres) are on either side of a motorway. These have development potential and this is being explored.
	There has been no estimate made of the number of homes that could be built on these sites.
	This answer does not include information pertaining to Government Offices, who carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Local Authority Pension Schemes

David Willetts: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the latest estimate is of the deficit or surplus in each local authority pension scheme.

Phil Hope: As at 31 March 2001, the most recent date for which the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has full actuarial valuation data for the Local Government Pension Scheme, pension funds in England and Wales held assets some £6.3 billion less than their liabilities. The results of the actuarial valuation carried out for each local authority pension fund as at 31 March 2004 are not yet available.

Travellers

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the implications for (a) Traveller migration to the UK, (b) demand for Traveller sites and (c) unauthorised encampments of the introduction of changes in the law of trespass in the Irish Republic.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's bi-annual Count of Gypsy and Traveller caravans in England, and the annual count of Traveller families in the Republic of Ireland carried out by the Irish Government, do not indicate that there has been a significant population shift since the introduction of the legislative changes in the Republic, which took effect in 2002.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Accidents

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether she will publish the data for the number of accidents at work involving employees of her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills does not currently publish accident data.

Autism

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what provisions her Department makes to assist children with autism in schools.

Margaret Hodge: It is for individual schools to decide how best to make provision for children with autism. The Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice advises schools and local education authorities (LEAs) that children's needs should be assessed individually and that provision should address the particular needs of the individual child. It gives advice to schools on making provision for children with SEN, including those with autism.
	The Department for Education and Skills, together with the Department of Health, has issued good practice guidance on making provision for children with autistic spectrum disorders which aims to raise awareness of autism. Nine of the 11 SEN regional partnerships have working groups focusing on improving provision for children with autism in their areas, using the good practice guidance. The regional partnerships have also been producing other autism guidance, including guidance on delivering the curriculum for children with autism in secondary schools, a transition toolkit for children with autism moving from primary to secondary school, and guidance for learning support assistants.
	Over recent years many LEAs have used available funding to support in-service training on autism. As part of the Government's SEN strategy, published last year, the Department is working with the Teacher Training Agency to develop proposals for improving training in relation to SEN, including autism. An inclusion development programme is also being developed to strengthen the evidence base about what works in educating children with autism and build a consensus about how to implement good practice most effectively.

Autism

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children with autism there were in schools in Norfolk in each month since January 2002, broken down by (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Margaret Hodge: Information on pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and their primary need was collected in the Annual Schools' Census for the first time in January 2004 for pupils at School Action Plus and those with a statement of SEN. In Norfolk local education authority maintained primary schools reported having approximately 310 pupils and maintained secondary schools reported 130 pupils whose primary need was autistic spectrum disorder.
	The purpose of the data collection is to inform policy and planning, to study trends and to monitor the outcomes of initiatives and interventions on pupils with different types of SEN, not to classify individuals, or assigning children by type of need. We are aware that some schools had difficulty in identifying a child's primary need and where appropriate their secondary need. Also professionals from education and health fields may classify some children differently; and the levels of identification of SEN are varied between local authorities.

Children's Commissioner

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what role the Children's Commissioner for England will play in improving children's health services; and what information sources will be available to the Commissioner to assess children's health services.

Margaret Hodge: The Children's Commissioner's remit is as set out in the Children Act 2004. He will promote awareness of the views and interests of children and young people; working as an independent champion, with a strategic role which gives him wide scope and influence in advancing their interests. As part of this function, he may choose to consider or research any matter, relating to the interests of children, including the improvement of children's health services. He also has an inquiry function which means that when he considers that the case of an individual child raises questions of relevance to children generally, he may hold an inquiry into that case.
	He is independent of Government and if he chooses to deal with health services, it will be up to him how he exercises this duty and what arrangements he will make. As in all his work, whether the Commissioner holds an inquiry or considers an issue, he will exercise impartiality at all times.
	The Government look forward to supporting the Children's Commissioner whenever they can to aid him in his work. We will make available to him any information that we are permitted to, in order to help him discharge his functions. This will include anything related to health services.

Computer Learning (Crosby)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Capital Modernisation Fund computer-learning centres have been established in Crosby.

Ivan Lewis: This information has been supplied by Ufl who took over responsibility for administration and development of Capital Modernisation Fund (CMF) funded UK online centres in April 2003.
	There are two UK online centres in Crosby and third on the border between Waterloo and Crosby. See details as follows:
	College Road Library
	College Road
	Crosby
	Merseyside
	L23 3DP
	0151 924 5287
	11 UK online workstations
	Crosby Connect Learning Centre
	Crosby Library and Civic Hall
	Crosby Road North
	Waterloo
	Merseyside
	L22 0LQ
	0151 257 6408
	10 UK online workstations
	3TC—Merseyside Third Sector
	Technology Centre
	16 Crosby Road North
	Waterloo
	Merseyside
	L22 0NY
	0151 285 4010
	18 UK online workstations (plus 38 additional workstations not funded by CMF)

Construction Industry (Training)

Alan Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people were undergoing training in the construction industry in each year from 1975 to 2004.

Ivan Lewis: This information cannot be provided as the cost of gathering the information is disproportionate. However if the hon. Member wishes to write to me I may be able to provide information about specific types of training over some or all of the period in question.

Correspondence

George Young: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire of 9 February, on an alleged breach of the Civil Service Code.

Stephen Twigg: holding answer 4 April 2005
	A reply was sent to the right hon. Member on 31 March.

Deregulation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many EU (a) regulations and (b) directives covering matters within the responsibility of her Department have been repealed since 1 April 2004.

Derek Twigg: No EU regulations or directives covering matters within the responsibility of the Department for Education and Skills have been repealed since 1 April 2004.

Deregulation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many regulations have been repealed by her Department since 1 April 2004.

Derek Twigg: 15 regulations have been repealed by the Department for Education and Skills since 1 April 2004.

Disabled Students

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department is taking to support access to mainstream inclusive education for disabled people.

Margaret Hodge: The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 amended the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to cover the provision of education. The 2001 Act required local authorities (LAs) and schools not to discriminate against disabled people in their access to education for reasons relating to their disability. It also required LAs and schools to plan to increase progressively, and over time, access to schools by disabled pupils and prospective pupils.
	The Government's SEN Strategy: Removing Barriers to achievement" is providing support to help schools and LAs implement these duties through the development of guidance and practical tools. These tools explain how they can make reasonable adjustments to their policies and practice to prevent discrimination, and how they can review and revise their accessibility strategies and plans.
	The Department is also making available £300 million through the Schools Access Initiative between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2006 to cover the first accessibility planning period. This funding is intended to support projects to improve the accessibility of mainstream schools to disabled pupils. It is for LAs to decide the schools at which projects are to be undertaken. We are encouraging schools and LAs to consider access as part of all capital building plans, including through the Building Schools for the Future programme and the recently announced 15 year capital investment programme for Primary Schools.

Education Business Links

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much Learning and Skills Council funding is planned for education business links for 2005–06; and how much was made available in 2004–05.

Stephen Twigg: Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funding to support education business links activities is a matter for the LSC. Mark Haysom, the LSC's chief executive, will write to my hon. Friend, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Families (Grants)

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what grants have been made in the 2005–06 financial year under the Safeguarding Children and Supporting Families grants; to which organisations; and if she will list unsuccessful applications.

Margaret Hodge: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.

Food Provision

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether her Department issues general guidance and advice to local authorities in respect of (a) meals on wheels and (b) other public provision of food.

Stephen Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department does not issue guidance or general advice to local authorities in respect of meals on wheels. This is a matter for local decision and commissioning, taking into account local circumstances and demography.
	The Department has just launched the food in schools toolkit to provide guidance and support for schools and those working with schools, including local education authorities (LEAs), in implementing a 'whole school approach' to healthy eating and drinking. In addition, the Department issues guidance to LEA maintained schools on implementing the school fruit and vegetable scheme. Funding for the scheme for 2005–06 is £46 million.
	The welfare food scheme (WFS) currently provides tokens for either seven pints of liquid cow's milk or 900grams of infant formula per week to pregnant women and children under five years old in families on qualifying benefits. Healthy Start" will replace the existing WFS and will be phased in from summer 2005. We expect that Healthy Start" expenditure should continue at a similar level to the WFS. The budget is demand-led and current welfare food expenditure is approximately £140 million per annum.

Food Provision

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will extend nutrition education and training in food preparation and cooking units to all sector skills councils.

Ivan Lewis: Improve, the sector skills council for the food and drink industry have responsibility for thenational occupational standards related to food preparation. Sector skills councils will address skills issues in the food and cooking industry where this is relevant to their sector. A number of sector skills councils with interests in food and drink manufacture, the crop industry, storage, retail, food preparation, hospitality and other related areas are already working together and have formed the Food Chain Group to address areas of common interest and to share good practice.

Further Education (Shrewsbury and Atcham)

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many students at (a) Shrewsbury Sixth Form College and (b) Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology paid tuition fees in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library.

Immigration and Asylum Skills Body

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when the skills advisory body announced as part of the Home Office strategy for asylum and immigration in Controlling our Borders: making migration work for Britain, is expected to be set up; whether it will have statutory Scottish representation; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: We will work closely with the Home Office, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Skills for Business Network to set up the new Skills Advisory Body in the course of this year. We are not proposing to place the new body on a statutory footing. It will have Scottish representation.

Looked After Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she has taken to improve the line of accountability of social services departments placing looked after children out of area since the passage of the Children Act 2004.

Margaret Hodge: Children's services authorities are in the process of appointing the directors of children's services (DCS) and lead members for children's services required under the Children Act 2004. About 60 authorities report that they have a DCS in place or have appointed one; almost as many have designated a lead member. The director and lead member will improve children's services authority accountability for the placement of all looked after children by being, respectively, professionally and politically responsible on behalf of the authority for the safety and welfare of such children.
	Although all members of the authority have a shared responsibility for corporate parenting, the lead member will take the lead in ensuring that looked after children have their interests protected, their opportunities maximised, their educational achievement enhanced and their care shaped to meet their needs. Draft statutory guidance, on which we have consulted and which will be published shortly, states explicitly that the lead member should take the local political lead in all corporate parenting issues. The 2004 Act also introduces a new duty on local authorities to promote the educational achievement of looked after children.
	The Department is currently conducting a review of local authority practice in placing looked after children in other local authority areas, with a view to both reducing their dependence on such placements and improving support for children who are placed out of authority. In the meantime, we have written to local authorities to remind them of the importance of ensuring that looked after children are placed out-of-authority only where their assessed needs clearly justify it, and to review their current practice to ensure that they are meeting their existing statutory responsibilities; taking steps to prevent, wherever possible, children being placed away from home (e.g. by developing an adequate supply of good quality local foster and residential care places); and securing good outcomes for children who are placed out-of-authority.
	We have also asked the Commission for Social Care Inspection to offer advice on how best they can monitor and assess local authority practice in this area.

National Literacy Strategy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will describe the synthetic phonics programme in the National Literacy Strategy.

Derek Twigg: The National Literacy Strategy, now the Primary National Strategy, places a clear and early emphasis on synthetic phonics instruction, reinforced by complementary reading strategies such as context, grammatical knowledge and word recognition. This is in line with the best available international research.
	We have produced structured teaching materials for teachers on synthetic phonics entitled Progression in Phonics" published in 1999, and Playing with Sounds": a supplement to Progression in Phonics" published in 2004. Copies of these have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	The approach to the teaching of synthetic phonics advocated by the Primary National Strategy is that children should be taught as quickly as possible to identify, segment and blend phonemes in speech and writing, and that this should be taught directly, and not left to inference or invention. We recommend that synthetic phonics should be taught as a separate set of skills and knowledge within the broader structure of the literacy hour.
	The Playing with Sounds programme is designed to support the learning and teaching of synthetic phonics for children from the ages of three to six. It begins with developing children's awareness and discrimination of sounds and supports their progression through segmentation and blending, to an ability to read and spell regular polysyllabic words. The pace at which children are introduced to phonic knowledge through the Playing with Sounds programme is quicker than that set out in the original National Literacy Strategy framework and supports the achievement of the foundation stage early learning goals.

National Literacy Strategy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many cues to word recognition are recommended in the Searchlight approach within the National Literacy Strategy; and if she will describe each of these cues.

Derek Twigg: The National Literacy Strategy is based on the best international research available and supports the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum. It advocates a model of teaching reading which has come to be known by the Searchlights" metaphor. The model characterises reading as the ability to coordinate and orchestrate four basic cues. These are:
	Fast automatic phonic decoding
	The recognition of word and word parts
	Predictions from knowledge of syntax to make sense of strings of words
	Predictions from context to aid comprehension.
	The Searchlight model is designed to enable the reader to cross-refer between cues, which support each other. The ability to use this range of cues together makes it less critical if one of them fails on any given occasion. However, we promote phonics as the first and foremost strategy that children employ as they encounter new words.
	Phonic decoding and instant recognition of high frequency irregular words are the cues employed at the level of word recognition; grammatical knowledge and understanding of context operate at the level of phrases, sentences and text as a whole. Therefore both aspects of the reading process, decoding and comprehension, are represented in the approach and complement each other.

National Literacy Strategy

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the names are of the officials in her Department responsible for advising her on her response to the Clackmannanshire longitudinal study into the teaching of reading.

Derek Twigg: Officials in the School Standards Group are responsible for advising the Secretary of State on all aspects of the teaching and learning of literacy in schools. Further details can be obtained from the Civil Service Year Book and the DfES website. In addition, through the National Strategies, we draw on the expertise of a number of practitioners and academics who are constantly responding to and keeping abreast of the latest research. In this capacity Dr. Kevan Collins, Director of the Primary National Strategy, has provided advice to Ministers and officials on the implications of the Clackmannanshire study.
	Over time our approach to phonics, which is the subject of the Clackmannanshire study, has been informed by a wide range of experts in the field. In 2003 we convened a seminar of all the leading researchers and practitioners working on phonics issues. The findings of this seminar were independently reviewed and used to inform the development of our most recent guidance on phonics Playing with Sounds: A supplement to Progression in Phonics".

National Voluntary Youth Organisation Grant

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the successful bidders in the 2005 to 2008 round of the National Voluntary Youth Organisation grant scheme, broken down by amount of grant.

Margaret Hodge: The successful bidders in the 2005–08 NVYO grant scheme are detailed in the following table, together with the amounts awarded for the three-year duration of the scheme.
	
		£
		
			 Name of organisation NVYO grant—three-year total 
		
		
			 Academy of Youth, University of the First Age (UFA) 279,443 
			 AFASIC 107,604 
			 African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance (ACEA) 150,000 
			 Baptist Union of Great Britain 317,866 
			 Barnardo's 97,852 
			 Boys' Brigade 211,142 
			 Brathay Hall Trust 286,167 
			 The British Diabetic Association (Diabetes UK) 131,316 
			 British Red Cross 452,474 
			 British Youth Council 486,430 
			 Centrepoint 174,006 
			 Changemakers Foundation 280,088 
			 Children's Express 146,716 
			 Children's Society 179,802 
			 Church of England Board of Education 421,905 
			 Churches Together In Britain and Ireland (Spectrum) 167,475 
			 Churches Together in England 156,951 
			 Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council 150,000 
			 Community Matters 174,423 
			 The Crusaders 294,258 
			 DEAFAX 150,000 
			 Development Education Association 150,815 
			 Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Award for Young People—Continyou 204,158 
			 Duke of Edinburgh's Award 348,277 
			 Eating Disorders Association (EDA) 47,509 
			 Endeavour Training 688,825 
			 Fairbridge 247,478 
			 Focus 231,888 
			 Girlguiding UK 100,841 
			 Girls' Brigade 174,233 
			 Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets 97,260 
			 Groundwork 208,736 
			 Hope UK 231,830 
			 Inspire Trust 190,904 
			 International Voluntary Service 120,446 
			 In-volve 169,857 
			 Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade 340,038 
			 The Leaveners 15,000 
			 Maccabi GB 196,290 
			 Mencap 191,831 
			 Message Trust and Project Caleb 168,201 
			 Methodist Church (MAYC) 251,848 
			 Minorities of Europe 155,303 
			 Muslim Youth Helpline 150,000 
			 NACRO 88,790 
			 National Association of Clubs for Young People 779,641 
			 National Association of Youth Theatres 333,105 
			 National Community Boats Association 123,990 
			 National Deaf Children's Society 179,145 
			 National Federation Young Farmers Clubs 396,000 
			 The National Trust 290,447 
			 National Youth Theatre of GB 280,218 
			 NCVYS 1,108,402 
			 NYA (on behalf of Youth Bank) 215,452 
			 ONE20 trading as Timebank 150,000 
			 Outward Bound Trust 248,487 
			 Peacemaker 184,088 
			 The Prince's Trust 150,000 
			 The Princess Royal Trust for Carers 101,330 
			 Rainer 150,000 
			 Raleigh International 166,509 
			 Rathbone 495,659 
			 Reformed Synagogues of GB (Reform Judaism) 150,060 
			 RSPB 40,982 
			 Rural Youth Network 235,556 
			 Scout Association 309,453 
			 Sense 89,358 
			 Shelter 223,881 
			 Skill 440,706 
			 Student Action for Refugees (STAR) 151,442 
			 Tall Ships Trust 224,404 
			 Time for God 149,963 
			 Trident Trust—Brathay Hall 297,726 
			 UJIA Makor 150,000 
			 UK Youth 694,690 
			 UNICEF UK 306,978 
			 United Reformed Church 150,000 
			 Weston Spirit 193,299 
			 Wildlife Trust 150,000 
			 YMCA 457,789 
			 Youth Access 608,122 
			 Youth Access and Leap Confronting Conflict 150,000 
			 Youth Action Network 150,000 
			 Youth for Christ 235,461 
			 Youth Music Theatre UK 202,193 
			 YWCA England and Wales 486,144

National Voluntary Youth Organisation Grant

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria were used to assess bids for inclusion in the National Voluntary Youth Organisation grant scheme.

Margaret Hodge: The criteria by which all decisions on the 160 applications for funding under the National Voluntary Youth Organisation (NVYO) grant scheme were made were explicit in both the application forms and guidance notes, to assist organisations through the application process.
	The guidance notes clearly stated that applications should make a strong contribution to the achievement of the outcomes for young people set out in Every Child Matters.
	The Department looked for bids that (this was in paragraph 13.2 of the guidance):
	were clearly focused on the outcomes identified in the guidance
	were for activities in line with those identified in the grant criteria
	identified clear and robust outcome indicators that were relevant to the outcomes the bid proposes to deliver
	clearly explained the national significance of the activity being proposed
	were realistic and deliverable

Older Students

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many over 60-year-olds are studying in further education institutes in England.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is published in the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) statistical first release (SFR), Further Education, Work Based Learning for Young People and Adult and Community Learning—Learner Numbers in England: 2003–04, available on the LSC website: http://www.lsc.gov.uk/National/Partners/Data/Statistics/Learner Statistics/LearnerNumbers/StatisticalFirstRelease 200304.htm
	In 2003–04, there were 387,000 learners aged 60 and over in LSC funded further education. This is more than two and a half times greater than the number in 1997–98.

Return-to-work Skills

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many women in Crosby have visited an information and communications technology training centre in order to learn skills to return to work.

Ivan Lewis: This information has been supplied by Ufl who took over responsibility for administration and development of Capital Modernisation Fund (CMF) funded UK online centres in April 2003.
	Ufl is unable to provide the actual number of female users for individual CMF funded UK online centres in the Crosby area (College Road Library, Crosby Connect Learning Centre and 3TC—Merseyside Third Sector Technology Centre) as data at this level is not gathered for individual UK online centres.
	However, 52 per cent. of users of UK online centres nationally are women, on average 112 people per quarter use each of the CMF centres, hence on average 58 women per quarter use each CMF centre.
	This data is taken from the quarterly report of CMF centres for the quarter ending December 2004. It should be noted that this data only covers CMF centres and only those that still return data (this is about one third of CMF centres). The percentage of users figure and the average number of users figure have been fairly consistent over the last 12 months.

School Meals

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent representations she has received regarding Jamie Oliver's Feed Me Better campaign; what plans she has to implement the recommendations of the campaign; and if she will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met with Jamie Oliver to hear about his work in Greenwich, and to inform him of our own work to improve school meals. The Department for Education and Skills has had a large number of letters, e-mails and telephone calls relating to Jamie Oliver's Feed Me Better campaign.
	On 30 March the Secretary of State announced a package that will transform school meals in local education authority maintained schools in England. The elements of the package include:
	Over the next three years, from September 2005, £220 million of new grants to schools and local education authorities to raise the quality of school meals. The LEA grants will be targeted in part to help primary schools spend a minimum of 50p on ingredients and secondary schools, 60p;
	Higher priority to providing new or upgraded kitchen facilities, through our existing programmes to rebuild and refurbish schools. Government are already committed to investing £5.5billion in 2005–06 rising to £6.3 billion in 2007–08 to improve secondary school buildings, and at least £1.8 billion to improve primary schools in 2007/08;
	£60 million to fund the new School Food Trust, with £45 million of this coming from the Big Lottery Fund. The Trust will provide independent support and advice about school meal improvements to schools and parents and will be working with the Lottery on a range of healthy eating programmes based around schools;
	Toughening up minimum school lunch nutritional standards to reduce sugar, salt and fat intakes and increase consumption of fruit and vegetables and essential nutrients;
	Extending school lunch standards to other food available on school premises, including vending machines and tuck shops;
	Producing new guidance to help schools and local education authorities draw up catering contracts that source healthy school meals' services and healthy food in vending machines, tuck shops and breakfast clubs;
	A range of qualifications for school catering staff.

School Meals

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effect of the content of school meals on rates of obesity in children.

Derek Twigg: The Department for Education and Skills has not commissioned research or evaluated the effect of the content of school meals on rates of obesity in children.

School Meals

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what advice she (a) has given and (b) plans to give to schools on (i) additives in school meals and (ii) vending machines selling food in schools; and if she will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Secretary of State has not given advice to schools on additives in school meals. Subject to meeting the requirements of mandatory school lunch standards, local education authorities are responsible for deciding whether lunches should be free from additives. This responsibility is transferred to the governing body of schools that have a budget for school lunches delegated to them.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is currently carrying out research into the impact of artificial colourings and preservatives on children's behaviour. This Department works closely with FSA and will carefully consider the results of their research, due for publication in March 2007.
	DfES and DH have today issued guidance on healthy practice in school vending through the Food in Schools programme. Details can be found on the Food in Schools' website at: www.foodinschools.org/
	There is separate guidance on commercial sponsorship, Commercial activities in schools: best practice principles, which was published in 2001 by DfES in conjunction with the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) and the Consumers' Association. The principal aim of this publication, aimed at parents, teachers, school governing bodies, LEAs and businesses was to encourage consideration by all parties of a range of issues and to ensure that commercial objectives are consistent with genuine educational benefits. The guidance is to be updated after consultation over the next few months.

School Meals

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the percentage of school meals provided free at the point of delivery is in (a) England and (b) Hull; what percentage of pupils in primary schools eat school meals in (i) England and (ii)Hull; and if she will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The available information is shown in the table. Information on pupils taking school meals is not collected centrally.
	
		Maintained nursery, primary and secondary schools(1): School meal arrangements2,3England and City of Kingston Upon Hull local education authority (LEA), January 2004
		
			  Maintained nursery and primary Maintained secondary 
			  England Kingston Upon Hull LEA England Kingston Upon Hull LEA 
		
		
			 Number on roll 4,293,180 23,760 3,326,800 16,220 
			 Number of pupils taking free school meals(4) 608,760 4,740 351,380 2,620 
			 Percentage of pupils taking free school meals 14.2 19.9 10.6 16.2 
			 Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 741,150 6,150 477,290 3,840 
			 Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 17.3 25.9 14.3 23.7 
		
	
	(1)Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(2)Includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils.
	(3)Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	(4)Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals that had a free meal on the Census day.
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census
	Pupils are recorded as being eligible for free school meals if a claim has been made by them or on their behalf by parents and either the relevant authority has confirmed their eligibility or the school or LEA have seen the necessary documentation. Eligibility requires the parent (or pupil) to be in receipt of either income support, or income-based jobseekers allowance, or support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, or Child Tax credit but not working tax credit and have an annual income (as assessed by the Inland Revenue) that does not exceed for 2003–04 Tax Year £13,480.
	Section 512 of the Education Act 1996 (EA96), amended by section 201 of the Education Act 2002, places a duty on local education authorities to provide free school lunches to eligible pupils. (A similar duty is transferred to the governing body of any school that has had the budget for school lunches delegated to them).
	Children, whose parents receive the following support payments, are entitled to a free school lunch:
	Income support (IS);
	Income-based jobseekers allowance (IBJSA);
	Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999;
	Child tax credit, provided they are not entitled to working tax credit and have an annual income, as assessed by the Inland Revenue, that does not exceed 13,480 (2004–05).
	Children who receive IS or IBJSA in their own right are also entitled to free school lunches.
	For information on Wales I refer the right hon. Member to the Welsh Assembly.

Special Educational Needs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on Government policy on children with special educational needs.

Margaret Hodge: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 24 March 2005, Official Report, column 998W.

Special Schools

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Education and Skills how many special schools have closed in (a) Coventry and (b) England since 1997.

Stephen Twigg: Since 1997 281 special schools 1 have closed in England. There were no special school closures 2 in Coventry during this period.
	1 Special schools include: Other independent special schools, community special schools, non-maintained special schools, foundation special schools and independent schools approved for SEN pupils.
	2 The figures include special schools that closed as a result of the amalgamation or merger of two or more schools.

Sure Start

Colin Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to ensure that the involvement of parents in children's centres builds on the experience of parents' involvement in Sure Start.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 16 March 2005
	We are building on the successful experience of parents' involvement in Sure Start local programmes in a number of ways. Written guidance for local authorities and delivery partners emphasises the importance of parental involvement in the planning and implementation of children's centres. Parental involvement must be discussed with local authorities in planning discussions. A new Framework for Inspection of Children's Services will ensure that inspections assess how services involve children and parents. We are developing a mechanism for assessing the extent to which parents are involved in the design and delivery of children's centres services. And we will implement this when a greater number of parents have a children's centre planned in their area.

Surplus Stock Sales

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether her Department sold any surplus stock on the eBay auction website, in each year since 2000–01.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 9 March 2005
	The Department for Education and Skills has not sold surplus stock on the eBay auction website in each year since 2000–01.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of whether the public service agreement target to halt the year-on-year rise in obesity among children aged under 11 years by 2010 will be met.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health on 4 April 2005, Official Report, column 1101–102W.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of whether the public service agreement target to ensure that 80 per cent. of children aged under 16 years who have been in care for 2.5 or more years will have been living in the same placement for at least two years, or are placed for adoption, will be met by 2008.

Margaret Hodge: This PSA target was only set in SR 2004. It is a new and challenging target that requires a strong focus on both care planning and placement stability. We are taking forward our delivery plan for this target and will report on progress made through our regular statistical bulletin.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the welfare of battery hens; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The Government are currently considering a recently published scientific report by the Animal Health and Welfare Panel of the European Food Standards Authority (EFSA). The report considers the welfare aspects of various systems for keeping laying hens and takes into account pathological, zootechnical, physiological and ethological aspects of the various systems. This will form the basis of an EU Commission report, due to be published in the autumn.

Avian Flu

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the likely impact on (a) UK production of poultry, (b) local employment at UK turkey factories, (c) health of UK-produced poultry and (d) public health in the UK of avian influenza introduced into the UK through turkeys imported from (i) Thailand, (ii) Brazil and (iii) other countries; and what plans she has to limit the level of turkey imports.

Ben Bradshaw: The Contingency Plan for Avian Influenza sets out the policies that would be implemented to control an outbreak of avian flu, and includes arrangements for protecting those who have to deal with an outbreak of avian flu in this country. This plan will be implemented whatever the source of the disease. The arrangements contribute to protecting public health for which the responsibility lies with the Department of Health.
	Defra has not undertaken assessments of impacts on industry (production or employment) related to hypothetical outbreaks of disease.
	We are not aware of any outbreaks of HPAI in Brazil and therefore consider that there is currently no risk of introducing the disease from that country. We continue to actively monitor the animal health status of countries which export animals or animal products to the EU. When Defra is officially notified of a new disease incident in an EU member state, a country on the border of the EU or one of the UK's third country trading partners, we carry out a qualitative risk analysis. Risk assessments for avian influenza have been completed and are available at: <http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/monitoring/riskassess.htm>
	Of those countries in South East Asia that are affected by outbreaks of HPAI, only Thailand was eligible to export poultry meat including turkey meat to the EU prior to their outbreaks. As soon as Defra was notified of the outbreak in Thailand, safeguard measures were put in place to ban imports of fresh poultry meat. Cooked poultry meat that has not been heat treated to at least 70C has also been banned. Imports of live poultry from the affected countries are not permitted.
	All poultry meat imported into the EU from third countries must enter at designated border inspection posts where it is subject to veterinary inspections to ensure import conditions are met.
	There have been no outbreaks of either avian influenza or Newcastle disease in the UK for seven years. The Defra Veterinary Laboratories Agency produces a quarterly report on avian surveillance which is published on the Defra website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/vla/science/science-end-survrep-qtly.htm

Avian Flu

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many exercises have been undertaken by (a) her Department and (b) the State Veterinary Service to determine policy to combat an outbreak of avian influenza.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department held a tabletop exercise in June 2003 to explore the policy and operational issues arising from an outbreak of avian influenza and to develop its contingency plans.
	The State Veterinary Service has subsequently held five exercises to test its operational plans for an avian influenza outbreak.
	Additionally, a major national-scale exercise is currently being planned by the SVS on behalf of the department for spring 2006.

Badger Culling

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funds she has made available for badger culling in (a) the UK and (b) Gloucestershire; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Total funds made available for the randomised badger culling trial and associated epidemiological research in Great Britain is given in the table.
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1998–99 3.0 
			 1999–2000 4.6 
			 2000–01 6.6 
			 2001–02 6.0 
			 2002–03 6.6 
			 2003–04 7.3 
			 2004–05 (5)7.1 
		
	
	(5)Forecast
	An accurate breakdown of funding on a county level is not readily available.

Bovine Passports

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what reports she has received on practice in EU member states in applying the EU regulatory framework when drawing up policy on issuing bovine passports following late applications.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra officials wrote to the Agricultural Attaches in 15 member states in September 2004 requesting specific information on their procedures for enforcing the deadline for registering calf births. We have discussed the findings with industry representatives.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tuberculosis outbreaks in cattle were recorded in England and Wales in 2004; and whether a similar number of outbreaks has been recorded in any of the last 30 years.

Ben Bradshaw: There were 3,233 1 new bovine tuberculosis (TB) incidents recorded in England and Wales in 2004. In comparison, there were 3,138 1 new incidents in 2003, and 3,230 1 in 2002.
	Numbers of new TB incidents between 1975 and 2001 were at the level of 1,700 per year or below.
	1 Provisional data downloaded from the State Veterinary Service database between 8–15 February 2005. Subject to change as more data becomes available.
	Note:
	In 2001, the TB testing and control programme was largely suspended due to the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. When testing resumed in 2002, resources were concentrated on herds with overdue TB tests which would have had a longer period in which to contract the disease. Also the proportion of high risk herds tested immediately after the FMD outbreak was greater than that prior to the outbreak. As a result, data for 2001 and 2002 is not comparable with other years.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the costs of carrying out a comprehensive culling programme of badgers infected with bovine tuberculosis.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has conducted a preliminary study which integrates scientific models developed at the Central Science Laboratory and Reading University to establish the overall costs and benefits of various badger culling options. Further work is needed on the model before we can draw conclusions on policy options. As scientific information is generated from the RBCT and other studies (e.g. Republic of Ireland Four Area Trial), it will be used to inform the assumptions used in the model and so reduce the uncertainty surrounding the results. The model will help inform policy decisions and areas for future research. It is at present not possible to reliably identify infected badgers except by post-mortem examination and laboratory culture.

Bovine TB

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will assess whether there is a link between an increase in human TB and the spread of bovine TB among cattle.

Ben Bradshaw: There is no link between increase in human tuberculosis (TB) and the spread of bovine TB among cattle in the United Kingdom (UK). Human TB is most often caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (which is usually acquired from another human) and not by Mycobacterium bovis, the cause of bovine TB, which nowadays is rarely transmitted to man.
	Between 20 and 50 (typically 40) people have been diagnosed with bovine TB in the UK annually since 1990, representing 1 per cent. to 1.5 per cent. of culture-confirmed cases of TB in humans. Their geographical distribution does not mirror that of bovine TB in the cattle population. Most cases are attributed to (i)reactivation of old infection contracted prior to widespread pasteurisation of milk, or (ii) infection contracted abroad.

CAP Payments

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with (a) the National Farmers' Union and (b) other farmers' organisations on the publication under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requirements of records of moneys paid under the Common Agricultural Policy.

Alun Michael: Officials mentioned the possibility of disclosure briefly to representatives of the National Farmers Union and the Tenant Farmers Association in December 2004.
	Lord Whitty raised the possibility publicly with farming representatives and others attending the Oxford farming conference on 4 January 2005. He subsequently discussed the issue with the NFU later that month. The Rural Payments Agency wrote to its Industry Forum on 15 February seeking formal views on the publication of information. The Industry Forum includes representatives from the British Meat Producers Association, Country Land and Business Association, Dairy UK, Food and Drink Federation, Grain and Feed Trade Association, Livestock Auctioneers Association, National Farmers Union, Tenant Farmers Association, Agricultural Industries Confederation and National Sheep Association.
	Officials subsequently met representatives of the National Farmers' Union and the Food and Drink Federation on 8 and 15 March 2005. Several telephone calls between officials and representatives from these and other organisations also took place during February and March.

Departmental Land Purchases

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to her Department was of purchasing land and buildings in the Kirkbride airfield area in Cumbria.

Alun Michael: Kirkbride airfield was purchased in November 2001 at a cost of £650,000.

Environmental Crime

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance she intends to issue to local authorities on the prosecution of environment crimes under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill; what assessment she has made of the likely impact on the courts of applications under the reverse burden of proof provisions of the Bill; and what assessment she has made of the likely impact on funding requirements.

Alun Michael: Defra will produce comprehensive guidance on the powers that will be available to local authorities once the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill comes into effect, including the prosecution of offences for which there is provision for a defence to be shown. We do not expect the impact on the courts to be significant, especially given that the overall effect of the Bill is to simplify the legislation, to extend the options available to enforcement bodies and to introduce a limited number of new offences following extensive consultation.

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to respond to farmers who have applied to the Rural Payments Agency for environmental stewardship scheme support, but who have yet to be included on the Rural Land Registry or have maps returned.

Alun Michael: Farmers are obliged to register land they intend to use as part of a claim to the Single Payment Scheme (SPS). Such registrations extend the process established under the Integrated Agricultural Control System, through which more than £1.7 million land parcels were registered. Demand for land registrations is unprecedented, with requests from farmers intending to apply for SPS and those seeking to enter into agreements for the Environmental Stewardship Scheme. In the past six months the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has received nearly 25,000 registrations, when it normally expects to receive around 9,000 requests annually. The RPA has increased processing capacity but there is inevitably a current backlog of claims awaiting completion. At the current rate of progress most registrations will be processed by the end of June but some requests, particularly those received close to the 16 May deadline for submitting an SPS application ,might not be processed until August. The RPA is giving priority to those registrations that affect an outstanding scheme payment. Once the current round of applications has been dealt with, it is expected that the situation will stabilise and subsequent applications will be dealt with more quickly.

Fallen Stock

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to public funds was of establishing the National Fallen Stock Company; and what budget has been allocated for maintenance costs.

Ben Bradshaw: Just over £1 million has been made available by Defra for setting up the Company and establishing the arrangements for the administration of the Scheme. It is intended that future Company and administration costs will be financed through the moneys raised via the registration fees for farmers subscribing to the National Fallen Stock Scheme. The setting of a budget for maintenance costs is a matter for the Company Board.

Fallen Stock

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the effect of the ban on on-farm burials of fallen stock on carrion-dependent fowl.

Ben Bradshaw: No such assessment has been made. However, we understand that the RSPB is content with the existing arrangement of the feeding of Category 2 and 3 material (i.e. butchers' waste) to wild necrophagous birds and that a derogation to permit the use of ruminant fallen stock as feed material is not, therefore, necessary. Accordingly, the UK has exercised the derogation that permits member states to authorise the feeding of animal by-products which do not contain SRM to birds of prey.
	Even when burial was permitted carcases were required to be buried in such a way that carnivorous animals (including necrophagous birds) could not gain access to them. Therefore the effect of the ban on burial is minimal as carcases should not have been left uncovered where birds could have gained access to them.

Fallen Stock

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of (a) the availability of and (b) response times for services for the collection of fallen stock in England and Wales.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has not made such an assessment. However, the National Fallen Stock Company has analysed the coverage provided by the National Fallen Stock Scheme and concluded there is a reasonable choice of collection services available to farmers in most areas. The Company has said that under most circumstances it would expect carcases to be collected within 48 hours following notification and since the Scheme began the Company has only received just over 200 complaints about delays in collection out of around 60,000 pick ups nationally.
	However, within this encouraging assessment, the Company has acknowledged that there are particular problems with service provision in North Wales and some other localised areas including the Isle of Wight where the only Scheme collector has left the Scheme. The Company is taking action to address these difficulties with the co-operation of the fallen stock collection industry and other relevant parties.

Fallen Stock

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to public funds has been of subsidies paid by the National Fallen Stock Company for the collection of fallen stock.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government contribution to collection costs under the National Fallen Stock Scheme for the UK as a whole from 22 November 2004 to date is just over £0.4 million.
	Defra has committed £5 million in year one, £3 million in year two and £2 million in year three. There is equivalent funding from the Devolved Administrations, which, along with the Defra contribution, will amount to £10 million in the first year for the UK as a whole.

Fisheries

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many dead harbour porpoises have been stranded on the coasts of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset in each of the past five years; and what the cause of these deaths was.

Ben Bradshaw: From 1 January 2000 until 17 March 2005 a total of 352 harbour porpoises were stranded on the coasts of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. Table 1 gives a breakdown for each county. The number of carcases reported is always higher than the number which are suitable for or actually go to post mortem. I have provided a breakdown for each county for each year, and the causes of death where post mortems were carried out can be found in tables 2 to 4.
	Strandings data is obtained under the Defra-funded Cetacean and Turtle Strandings Scheme, carried out by the Natural History Museum in partnership with the Institute of Zoology and Scottish Agricultural College.
	
		Table 1: Total number of stranded harbour porpoise for 2000—up to 17 March 2005
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Cornwall 20 25 68 40 114 13 
			 Devon 8 13 5 11 21 9 
			 Dorset 2 2 1 1 0 0 
			 Total 30 40 74 52 135 22 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Results of post mortems for harbour porpoise stranded in Cornwall
		
			 Cause of death 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Bycatch 3 3 12 3 26 1 
			 Dystocia or stillborn 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Gastropathy and/or enteropathy 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Live stranding 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Not established 0 2 4 3 2 1 
			 Others 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 Physical trauma 0 2 0 2 0 1 
			 Physical trauma (Bottlenose dolphin kills) 0 1 0 0 1 0 
			 Pneumonia, parasitic 0 2 2 1 0 1 
			 Pneumonia, parasitic and bacterial 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Pneumonia, parasitic and mycotic 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Starvation (neonate) 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Total 4 13 18 10 31 4 
		
	
	
		Table 3: results of post mortems for harbour porpoise stranded in Devon
		
			 Cause of death 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Bycatch 1 3 3 1 0 1 
			 Gastropathy and/or enteropathy 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Live stranding 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Not established 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Physical trauma 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Physical trauma (Bottlenose dolphin kills) 0 0 0 0 2 0 
			 Pneumonia, parasitic 1 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Pneumonia, parasitic and bacterial 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 4 7 3 1 4 1 
		
	
	
		Table 4: Results of post mortems for harbour porpoise stranded in Dorset
		
			 Cause of death 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Bycatch 0 1 1 0 0 0 
			 Physical trauma 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Physical trauma (Bottlenose dolphin kills) 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 1 2 1 0 0 0

Foot and Mouth

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions took place between her Department and Northumberland county council to ensure that all material relating to the index case of foot and mouth disease at Burnside farm, Heddon on the Wall was submitted to the Anderson Inquiry.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 4 February 2005
	There was contact between my Department and Northumberland county council on the prosecution of Mr. Waugh, but there is no record of any such discussions concerning the submission of evidence to the Anderson Inquiry. The Origins of FMD paper, prepared by the then Chief Veterinary Officer, which was submitted to the Anderson Inquiry, contained comprehensive information on the index case.

Foot and Mouth

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many premises were assigned during the UK foot and mouth epidemic in 2004 to the (a) infected premises, (b) dangerous contact—3 km cull, (c) dangerous contact—contiguous cull, (d) dangerous contact—other, (e) slaughter on suspicion and (f) voluntary firebreak cull category; how many premises in each category were subject to laboratory testing; how many positives were identified in each category by such testing; how much compensation was paid for the value of the animals that were slaughtered at premises in each category; what the cost was of cleansing and disinfection at premises in each category; and how many animals were slaughtered at premises in each category, broken down by species.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 4 April 2005
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth) on 23 March 2005, Official Report, column 838W, for the details requested at (a) to (f) , in particular at Tables (ii) and (iv). However, we are unable to identify the information separately for the voluntary firebreak cull.
	Compensation paid for the value of animals in each category is a follows:
	(a) £482,625,076
	(b) £68,677,197
	(c) and (d) £527,477,519 (Defra is unable to distinguish between dangerous contact—contiguous cull and dangerous contact—other)
	(e) £24,639,178
	The information required on the cost of cleansing anddisinfecting at premises in each category is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Livestock Prices

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes took place in the average sale prices at markets of (a) sheep and (b) cattle between February and October 2001.

Alun Michael: Average sale prices at markets for (a) sheep and (b) cattle are available for part of February 2001 before the markets need to close down due to the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. No prices are available between March and October 2001, as the livestock markets remained closed until February 2002.
	The following tables give average sheep and cattle prices for February 2001.
	
		
			   Cattle prices for February 2001 
			   1st quality 2nd quality 
			 Type/breed  Average price £ per head Number sold Average price £ per head Number sold 
		
		
			 Rearing calves:  
			 Friesian/Holstein Bulls 29.06 655 11.76 1356 
			  Heifers 71.05 20 28 34 
			 Other dairy breeds Bulls 56.75 12 13.23 30 
			  Heifers 42 2 11 18 
			 Hereford Bulls 77.43 169 38.07 287 
			 Hereford cross Heifers 24.2 107 10.73 244 
			 Charolais cross Bulls 142.15 263 91.22 258 
			 Charolais cross Heifers 37.49 177 17.66 270 
			 Limousin Bulls 127 435 64.91 734 
			 Limousin cross Heifers 41.12 220 15.17 635 
			 Simmental Bulls 137.95 317 86.49 460 
			 Simmental cross Heifers 40.5 194 18.26 376 
			 Belgian blue cross Bulls 139.96 371 88.8 435 
			 Belgian blue Heifers 52.14 239 24.56 433 
			 Other continental Bulls 103.75 44 65.69 42 
			 Other continental cross  24.8 20 13.98 48 
			 Other beef Bulls 76.06 129 28.7 220 
			 Other beef cross Heifers 30.42 26 11.78 192 
			   
			   
			 Store Cattle:  
			 Friesian Holstein yearlings Steers 258.06 155 176.89 202 
			  Heifers — — 76.44 9 
			 18 months old Steers 300.58 144 239.2 102 
			  Heifers 368.11 19 268.89 19 
			 2 years old Steers 367.71 122 303.22 68 
			  Heifers 364.67 18 300.4 5 
			 Other dairy breeds:  
			 Yearlings Steers 352 5 57.2 5 
			  Heifers 285 1 170 1 
			 18 months old Steers 381 2 375.75 4 
			  Heifers 287 2 190 6 
			 2 years old Steers 515 1 395 1 
			  Heifers 408 2 210 2 
			   
			 Hereford/Hereford cross:  
			 Yearlings Steers 277.22 204 234.38 52 
			  Heifers 172.75 67 133.4 40 
			 18 months old Steers 364.05 92 336.25 116 
			  Heifers 276.02 94 204.52 50 
			 2 years old Steers 421.89 70 330.84 38 
			  Heifers 321.1 30 193.27 11 
			   
			 Charolais/Charolais cross:  
			 Yearlings Steers 400.78 437 337 211 
			  Heifers 262.36 420 192.48 231 
			 18 months old Steers 486.73 683 387.67 362 
			  Heifers 382 533 300.65 309 
			 2 years old Steers 516.06 325 436.3 100 
			  Heifers 395.15 105 332.33 24 
			   
			 Limousin/Limousin cross:  
			 Yearlings Steers 415.75 653 349.95 441 
			  Heifers 314.31 569 232.2 653 
			 18 months old Steers 489.01 877 422.68 489 
			  Heifers 401.43 654 313.59 452 
			 2 years old Steers 538.56 314 439.99 83 
			  Heifers 418.4 168 333.67 81 
			   
			 Simmental/Simmental cross:  
			 Yearlings Steers 332.19 249 287.97 197 
			  Heifers 204.58 175 165.6 131 
			 18 months old Steers 456.23 370 390.58 269 
			  Heifers 343.74 315 281.59 194 
			 2 years old Steers 490.23 256 407.32 144 
			  Heifers 375.45 64 333.63 70 
			   
			 Belgian blue/Belgian blue cross:  
			 Yearlings Steers 374.34 95 262.8 91 
			  Heifers 284.3 84 249.99 113 
			 18 months old Steers 454.6 119 357.53 47 
			  Heifers 370.79 71 331.57 60 
			 2 years old Steers 457.63 59 429.67 15 
			  Heifers 400.74 50 295 8 
			   
			   
			 Other Continental/other Continental cross:  
			 Yearlings Steers 401.49 180 346.33 108 
			  Heifers 297.88 147 217.78 137 
			 18 months old Steers 491.96 189 393.92 171 
			  Heifers 406.97 165 326.74 114 
			 2 years old Steers 471.88 50 390.22 37 
			  Heifers 426.9 10 336 10 
			   
			 Other beef/other beef cross:  
			 Yearlings Steers 322 100 232.87 46 
			  Heifers 202.45 77 126.25 60 
			 18 months old Steers 408.56 128 322.68 73 
			  Heifers 280.05 56 238.35 26 
			 2 years old Steers 464.26 39 400.95 44 
			  Heifers 349.61 23 267.83 12 
			   
			 Other beef/other beef cross:  
			 Yearlings Steers 267.33 15 228 1 
			  Heifers 120.13 16 70.36 11 
			 18 months old Steers 374.69 26 271.28 32 
			  Heifers 207.89 19 182 8 
			 2 years old Steers 473 19 333.5 4 
			  Heifers 317.33 3 282 1 
			 Barreners (£ per head):  
			 Barreners Dairy  — — — — 
			 Barreners Beef  — — — — 
			 Dairy Breeds  — — — — 
			 Beef Breeds  — — — — 
			   
			 Dairy cattle—Friesan/Holstein  
			 Cows in milk  684.79 327 545.51 250 
			 Cows in calf  608.17 12 382.5 6 
			 1st calving cows in milk  682.31 448 560.68 358 
			 Down calving heifers  529.95 37 405.52 25 
			   
			 Other dairy breeds:  
			 Cows in Milk  511.25 4 380 2 
			 Cows in Calf  — — 330 1 
			 1st calving cows in milk  493.33 3 210 1 
			 Down calving heifers  — — — — 
		
	
	
		Sheep prices for February 2001
		
			  1st quality 2nd quality 
			  Average £ price per head Number sold Average price per head Number sold 
		
		
			 Store sheep  
			 Hoggs, Hoggets and Tegs 39.88 7875 25.61 8536 
			 Lambs 27.19 151 17.65 129 
		
	
	Source:
	Defra

Marine Pollution (Sewerby)

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action (a) has been taken in the past two years and (b) is being taken to prevent bacterial discharge into the sea at Sewerby near Bridlington; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 4 April 2005
	Since 2003 investigations have been under way into the impact of the discharge made by Munton's plc into the short sea outfall pipe at Sewerby. These have shown that there are no discharges of human sewage into the outfall, which is owned by the East Riding of Yorkshire council. The indicator organisms found in the discharge are present in the raw materials (grain) brought to the site and the malting process carried out there provides the humid, dark conditions which encourage multiplication.
	Following discussions between the company, the Environment Agency and the council, it has been agreed that additional treatment, by way of a reed bed system, should be provided to reduce bacterial concentrations and provide storage to balance flows. Discharge of effluent would also be limited to when there is sufficient dilution at the outlet to prevent visual nuisance.

Meat and Dairy Imports

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which countries are refusing to allow British beef to be imported; and for what reasons.

Ben Bradshaw: Following is a list of 84 countries which we understand still impose a ban on the import of British beef. The situation in a further 27 countries has still to be confirmed. In addition there is continuing dialogue between the EU and Egypt on recently revised Egyptian import conditions. The reasons cited for the bans are animal and public health related.
	However, we consider that these bans are not justified in the light of science and the BSE controls applied in the UK. Currently, beef exports can only take place under the stringent conditions of the Date-based Export Scheme, which complies fully with EU and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) rules and guidance.
	We are currently working with the European Commission for recognition that, like most other EU member states, the UK is now a moderate (rather than high) risk country according to current OIE rules. We are also working with the Commission with a view to lifting the ban on the export of beef from UK cattle born after July 1996 as soon as possible after the over-30-month rule is replaced by testing and these cattle can be sold for human consumption in the UK.
	Bans:
	Albania
	Algeria
	Angola
	Argentina
	Armenia
	Australia
	Azerbaijan
	Bahamas
	Bahrain
	Barbados
	Belarus
	Bolivia
	Bosnia and Herzegovina
	Brazil
	Brunei
	Bulgaria
	Burkina Faso
	Cameroon
	Canada
	Cayman Islands
	Central African Republic
	Chad
	Chile
	China
	Colombia
	Congo (Democratic Republic of)
	Congo Brazzaville
	Cote d'Ivoire
	Croatia
	Cuba
	Dominican republic
	Ecuador
	El Salvador
	Equatorial Guinea
	Gabon
	Grenada
	Guatemala
	Guyana
	India
	Indonesia
	Japan
	Jordan
	Kenya
	Korea (South)
	Kuwait
	Kyrgyzstan
	Libya
	Macau
	Malaysia
	Mexico
	Monaco
	Montserrat
	Morocco
	Nicaragua
	Nigeria
	Oman
	Panama
	Paraguay
	Peru
	Philippines
	Qatar
	Rwanda
	Samoa
	Saudi Arabia
	Singapore
	South Africa
	Sri Lanka
	Switzerland
	Syria
	Taiwan
	Thailand
	Togo
	Turkey
	Turkmenistan
	Uganda
	Ukraine
	United Arab Emirates
	USA
	Uruguay
	Uzbekistan
	Venezuela
	Vietnam
	Yemen
	Zambia
	To be confirmed:
	Afghanistan
	Benin
	British Virgin Islands
	Cape Verde
	Comoros
	Eritrea
	French Polynesia
	Georgia
	Guinea
	Guinea-Bissau
	Haiti
	Iraq
	Jamaica
	Liberia
	Maldives
	Mali
	Mauritania
	Mayotte
	Moldova
	Niger
	Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands
	San Marino
	Sao Tome and Principe
	Somalia
	South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
	St. Helena Dependencies
	Yugoslavia

Meat and Dairy Imports

Gavin Strang: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's policy is on the European Commission's proposal to increase to 275,000 tonnes the import into the EU of boneless poultry meat from non-EU countries.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 10 March 2005
	There are no restrictions on the quantity of imports into the European Union of poultry meat.
	We are aware that the EU Commission has considered the possibility of a reduced rate import tariff quota for 275,000 tonnes of poultry meat as part of the proposed free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries of South America (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) but no such offer has yet been formally made.
	The Government have raised with the Commission the points that have been made by the poultry industry, including the point that, as a result of higher EU welfare standards, it is not competing on a level playing-field with countries such as Brazil. We continue to press for recognition of increased animal welfare costs as a legitimate issue in the context of the World Trade Organisation's current round of trade liberalisation negotiations (the Doha Development Agenda).

Multiple Retailers

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions her Department has had with the Office of Fair Trading regarding the code of conduct for multiple retailers on the treatment of primary producers; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Responsibility for the Supermarkets' code of practice rests with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). However, as Defra is sponsor Department for the farming and food industries we have discussed the subject of the code with the OFT as and when the need has arisen.
	The OFT has recently published the findings of an audit of the code, together with a paper that considers the implications of those findings and invites comments and evidence on a number of issues arising from them. These documents can be found on the OFT's website at http://www.oft.gov.uk/News/Press+releases/2005/52– 05.htm. We encourage all those who have views on the issues in question to respond to the OFT's invitation to comment.
	The OFT's paper also makes reference to a proposal for a new voluntary code, known as the Buyers Charter, that is being developed by the National Farmers Union (NFU) in consultation with other industry bodies. We welcome this initiative and have encouraged all sections of the food chain, whether they be retailers, processors or manufacturers, to work positively with the NFU to develop the proposal.

Sewers/Drains

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will make a statement on her proposals to transfer ownership of private sewers and lateral drains from property owners to local water companies;
	(2)  what arrangements are being made for the transfer of ownership of sewers and drains; and whether necessary repairs will be carried out before that transfer.

Elliot Morley: The Government published a response to their consultation—Review of Existing Private Sewers and Drains in England and Wales—in October 2004. 81 per cent. of respondents favoured a change of ownership, and of these, 90 per cent. held the view that sewerage undertakers should take over responsibility. The Government acknowledged the strength of support for this solution and undertook to look into it in more depth.
	The Department also recently held a seminar with stakeholders to look at sustainable options for a potential transfer. Further information on the seminar is available on the Department's website.
	The Government intend to publish a decision paper this summer, but do not rule out the need to consult further on the scope and form of a potential transfer.

Sewers/Drains

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the condition of sewers; and what the impact on household water bills is estimated to be of carrying out necessary repairs.

Elliot Morley: The Director General of Water Services sets price limits for the water and sewerage companies in England and Wales. He published his decisions on 2 December 2004. In arriving at his decisions he assessed the state of Companies' sewers to be 'stable'.
	'Future water and sewerage charges 2005–10: Final determinations', which is available from the Library of the House of Commons, sets out for each water and sewerage company Ofwat's assessment of what contribution capital maintenance will make to the changes in each company's bills over the period 2005–10. However it is for each company to make decisions on what proportion of customers' bills they will spend on maintaining their sewers.
	Ofwat reviewed each company's proposals to maintain all of its water and sewerage assets and concluded that, within a total of £8.4 billion, the companies would need to invest around £1.0 billion to maintain their sewerage infrastructure over the period 2005–10. This is a 17 per cent. increase on what Ofwat estimates the companies will have spent on sewerage infrastructure in the period 2000–05.

TB (Badgers)

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will introduce field trials of devices for detecting biological warfare agents used on the battlefield to detect levels of TB in badgers in the west country.

Ben Bradshaw: The application of portable laboratories developed by the Ministry of Defence for detection of biological warfare agents, to detect bovine tuberculosis (TB) in badgers in the field is not yet at the stage appropriate for field evaluation.
	This technology is based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Research using conventional laboratory-based PCR has shown that the technique is not yet able to perform as well as conventional bacterial culture in the detection of Mycobacterium bovis (M.bovis) in diseased animals.
	A collaboration between the Veterinary Laboratories Agency and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down is evaluating a prototype portable machine for diseases other than bovine TB (Bovine Diarrhoea Virus and Foot and Mouth Disease). There are plans to evaluate it for use in detecting M.bovis in the field in the future.
	Defra is currently assessing research applications for projects that will conduct a review of all current PCR assays available for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex identification and assess their cost benefit analysis for incorporation into routine TB testing.

TB (Badgers)

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what strains of bovine TB in infected livestock have been isolated; and whether the same strains have been isolated in badgers killed in road traffic accidents.

Ben Bradshaw: Strains of Mycobacterium bovis (M.bovis) isolated from cattle or badgers infected by bovine tuberculosis are routinely determined by spoligotyping.
	A total of 705 isolates of M. bovis from badgers killed in road traffic accidents have been typed by this method since November 1988, resulting in identification of 17 different strains. Of 25,120 isolates of M. bovis from cattle typed since November 1988, 46 strains have been found.
	16 of the M. bovis strains have been found in both badgers and cattle. These accounted for 99.9 per cent. of badger isolates and 99.3 per cent. of cattle isolates.

TB Tests

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers she has to enforce tuberculosis tests on dairy farmers; and how many times these powers have been used in the last three years.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 9 March 2005
	The bovine tuberculosis testing regime is executed by officers of Defra in England. Prosecutions for non-compliance are brought by local authorities as the body responsible for enforcement. If the person responsible for the animal fails to co-operate to enable his animals to be tested the appropriate officer may take all necessary steps to enable the test to be done.
	There have been no prosecutions by local authorities during the last three years to enforce tuberculosis tests on dairy farmers. Where, for whatever reason, tuberculosis tests are not carried out on time, the Department and the local authority endeavour to resolve the matter without recourse to the Courts.

Waste Management

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of responses received to the Waste Management (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 (Agricultural waste regulations consultations); and what plans she has to publish her conclusions.

Elliot Morley: I announced on 9 December 2004, Official Report, column 106WS, that the Government had published a draft of the Regulations for consultation. The consultation paper confirmed that the exercise is being carried out in compliance with the Cabinet Office's Code of Practice on Consultation" which is available at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regulation/consultation/index.asp
	The consultation's closing date was 18 March 2005 and we are now considering the responses which have been received. The next step will be the publication of a summary of those responses and our analysis of them. Criterion 4 of the Code of Practice provides that this summary should be published, as far as possible, within three months of the consultation's closing date.

Waste Management

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research has been carried out to investigate possible links between emissions from landfill and hazardous waste sites and health problems, with particular reference to birth defects; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Last year my Department published an independent review of environmental and health effects of waste management. This brought together the available evidence on the health and environmental effects of different waste management facilities for treating municipal solid waste and similar wastes. It is available on the Defra website at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/waste/research/health/index.htm. Later this year there will be a follow up study to extend the review to cover non-municipal waste management processes.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Social Work

David Amess: To ask the Minister for Women if she willmake a statement on female employment in social care.

Patricia Hewitt: As at 30 September 2003, women represented over 80 per cent. of the total whole-time equivalent employees in social service departments. On a headcount basis, women accounted for 230,700 employees in a directly employed council workforce of 277,000. There are another estimated 650,000 social care workers employed in the private and voluntary sectors, mostly in residential and domiciliary provision, and it is estimated that around 90 per cent. of that workforce is female.

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Budget

George Osborne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the planned (a) capital and (b) resource budget for his Department is for 2011–12.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary (Mr. Timms) on 4 April 2005, Official Report, column1170W.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Referendums

Kate Hoey: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what plans the Commission has made to investigate complaints about illegal donations or spending connected with the referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe that are made during (a) the regulated period and (b) the referendum period.

Peter Viggers: By virtue of section 145 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA), the Electoral Commission has the general function of monitoring compliance with the restrictions and other requirements imposed by or by virtue of Part VII of PPERA in relation to referendums to which the Act applies.
	The Commission informs me that it has in operation robust processes and procedures to undertake investigations into potential breaches of the regulatory requirements of the Act. It will apply these in relation to any referendum on the Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe as it would to any other referendum to which the provisions of Part VII of PPERA apply.

Referendums

Kate Hoey: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission whether it is the Commission's assessment that it has adequate powers to prevent illegal donations or spending connected with the referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe during (a) the regulated period and (b) the referendum period.

Peter Viggers: Although by virtue of section 145 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA), the Electoral Commission has the general function of monitoring compliance with the restrictions and other requirements imposed by or by virtue of PartVII of PPERA in relation to referendums to which the Act applies, this does not give the Commission power to intervene to prevent either donations or spending in connection with such referendums, including any referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe.
	However, the Commission informs me that it has in operation robust processes and procedures to undertake investigations into alleged breaches of the regulatory requirements of PPERA, including those relating to referendums.

Referendums

Kate Hoey: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what discussions regarding donations and expenditure the Commission plans to have with organisations that are permitted participants in the referendum on the EU Constitution which are funded by institutions of the European Union.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it will provide guidance for all organisations expressing interest in registering as permitted participants in any referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe and further guidance for those which actually register.
	In addition, the Commission intends to hold briefing sessions throughout the country to advise potential permitted participants in such a referendum on the relevant statutory requirements of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000, including those relating to donations and expenditure.
	As I informed the hon. Member on 7 March 2005, Official Report, columns 1666–67W, The Electoral Commission has already indicated that it does not regard the European Commission as falling into any of the categories of organisation that are allowed to make donations to permitted participants in a referendum on the EU Constitution.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Fish Purchases

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission how many fish have been bought by the Refreshment Department in each year since 1997, broken down by species.

Archy Kirkwood: I have written to the hon. Member.

DEFENCE

Arms Supplies

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department makes of the use in other countries of arms that have been supplied by UK manufacturers.

Denis MacShane: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government undertake monitoring in the recipient country of arms supplied by UK manufacturers when we believe that this would genuinely help to minimise the risk of diversion and where such monitoring is practical. In addition, UK overseas posts have standing instructions to report any misuse of UK-origin defence equipment. Evidence of misuse would be taken into account when the Government assesses any subsequent licence applications for the end-user. We may also, if appropriate, revoke related licences, and consider whether to prosecute if the Government believed that a criminal offence had been committed.

Army Discipline

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) officers, (b) non-commissioned officers and (c) private soldiers have been disciplined following the outcome of (i) an Army board decision, (ii) a divisional level decision and (iii) a unit level decision since 1997.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Army Discipline

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints considered under Army redress procedures have been made by (a) officers, (b) non-commissioned officers, (c) private soldiers and (d) untrained private soldiers since 1997.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence does not hold complete records dating back to 1997. However, during the period January 1999 to December 2004, our records indicate that 369 officers, 833 non-commissioned officers and 154 private soldiers applied for redress of complaint.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will reply to the letter dated 23 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Alan Green.

Geoff Hoon: I replied to the right hon. Member on 24 March.

Deaths in Service

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps were taken by his Department to ensure that the next of kin of Sergeant Paul Connolly were informed prior to the public announcement of his death in Iraq on 26 December 2004.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 4 April 2005
	It is Ministry of Defence policy to release the names of deceased personnel after the Next of Kin and nominated Emergency Contacts (if different) have been notified: the Next of Kin and/or the Emergency Contacts may request a further delay to enable them to inform other family members. Wherever possible, such a request will be honoured. Sergeant Connolly's nominated Emergency Contact was informed on 27 December; the formal public announcement of his death followed on 30 December.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has received from his United States counterpart in respect of the number of Iraqi citizens being detained by the United States military authorities in Iraq in connection with alleged offences connected with weapons of mass destruction.

Geoff Hoon: I do not routinely receive information from other coalition partners regarding the details of those being detained by them, nor information about the specific offences for which individuals are being detained/interned.

Iraq

Jonathan Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which soldiers who have served and been injured in the recent Iraqi conflict live in the constituency of Mid Bedfordshire.

Adam Ingram: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Naval Studies

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the terms of reference of the (a) Maritime Conference Study, (b) Submarine Acquisition Modernisation Study and (c) Surface Ship Support Study are; and when he expects each to conclude its work.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 17 March 2005
	I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 21 March 2005, Official Report, column 572W, to the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan), on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 127W to the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Soames), and 10 March 2005, Official Report, column 1996W, to the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan).

Parliamentary Questions

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will provide a substantive answer to the question, ref. 209882, from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan.

Geoff Hoon: I replied to the hon. Member on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 256W.

RAF Menwith Hill

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by what mechanism the US authorities pay his Department's Police Agency for policing activities at RAF Menwith Hill.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 24 March 2005
	The United States authorities pay for the Ministry of Defence Police Agency against bills raised on the Agency's behalf by the MOD Liaison Office at RAF Mildenhall. These bills are raised on a weekly basis and in arrears. At the end of each month, Mildenhall transfer the income from payments made by the US to the MOD Police Agency. Bills are based on the salaries of Agency personnel, both police and civilian, deployed to Menwith Hill and any other costs that are appropriate in accordance with the 1989 Memorandum of Understanding between the United States European Command (EUCOM), represented by the Headquarters Third Air Force, and the United Kingdom MOD concerning the role and responsibilities of MOD police deployed at bases occupied by United States Forces in the UK.

Surplus Assets Sales

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the value of sales of surplus assets from his Department was in each year since 2000–01.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to Key Target1 of the Key Targets Table in the Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Agency (DSA)'s Annual Report and Accounts that were laid before the House for each of those years respectively. The 2003–04 report, laid before the House on 15 July 2004, can be viewed on the DSA's website www.edisposals.com. The figures include receipts from sales undertaken by the DSA on behalf of its main customer—the MOD—and other Government Departments and other customers. The DSA has sole authority to act to dispose of all MOD surplus equipments bar land and property and nuclear material.
	Gross accrued receipts from the sale of surplus land and property are disclosed in the Defence estates accounts that were laid before the House for each of the years 2000–01 to 2003–04. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
	Both the DSA's Annual Report and Accounts and the Defence estate accounts in respect of 2004–05 are due to be laid before the House in advance of the summer recess.

Surplus Assets Sales

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defencewhether his Department sold any surplus stockon the eBay auction website, in each year since 2000–01.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 9 March 2005
	The Ministry of Defence's Disposal Services Agency (DSA)has sole authority to act to dispose of surplus equipment. The majority of equipments are sold through the DSA's network of contractors, with whom it has marketing agreements, who have the freedom to market and sell as they choose so as to optimise returns for the taxpayer. These contractors have occasionally used the eBay website in the last few years but records are not held centrally. The DSA has not used eBay directly.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Departmental Budget

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State forTrade and Industry what the planned (a) capital and (b) resource budget for her Department is for 2011–12.

Patricia Hewitt: Under the Spending Review process, budget allocations are given for the three years ahead. Following Spending Review 2004 we therefore have detailed spending plans in place for 2005–06, 2006–07, and 2007–08. The Spending Review process does not provide for the setting of budgets more than three years ahead.

Economic Partnership Agreements

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her written ministerial statement of 22 March 2005, Official Report, columns 62–3W, on economic partnership agreements, on what basis her Department arrived at the period of 20 years given unconditionally to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to open their markets to trade with the EU, following implementation of any given EU Economic Partnership Agreement; and whether she plans to make this period fully reciprocal.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 4 April 2005
	In recommending a transition period of 20 years, the Government took into consideration the views of the ACP countries, the ACP submission in the current WTO negotiations on Article 24 of the GATT, which suggested a minimum of 18 years for developing countries, and the transition period agreed in other recent regional trade agreements. The Government believe that each ACP regional group should make its own decisions on the timing, pace, sequencing, and product coverage of market opening in line with individual countries' national development plans and poverty reduction strategies. Regional groups should have the flexibility to move towards more open markets along a non-linear path if necessary.

Economic Partnership Agreements

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her written ministerial statement of 22 March 2005, Official Report, columns 62–3WS, on economic partnership agreements, whether she has earmarked specific UK funds to be made available via the EU to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries to enable them to benefit from trade reforms.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The UK cannot specifically earmark funds provided through the EU for the ACP. However the UK, through DFID's development assistance programmes, is continuing to make available funds for EPA policy research and capacity building for the ACP regional group secretariats and negotiators. This is intended to help the ACP structure EPAs in their development interests and assist them to get the best deal from the negotiations.

Equipment Leasing

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the equipment leasing arrangements entered into by her Department in each of the last two years; and what the cost was to public funds in each case.

Patricia Hewitt: The total cost to the Department and its Executive Agencies of hiring office equipment under operating leases for the last two years was:
	
		£ million
		
			  Cost of hiring office equipment 
		
		
			 2003–04 1.6 
			 2002–03 1.1 
		
	
	In addition, the Department has an off-balance sheet PFI contract for the provision to it of a wide range of information systems and services, including infrastructure management, IT development, business process re-engineering, consultancy advice and technology refresh. This is treated as an operating lease under the PFI guidance issued by HM Treasury. The total payments under this contract in 2003–04 amounted to £37 million. In 2002–03 this total was £35 million. It is not possible to split this total into payments for the use of equipment as opposed to payments for services.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee on the implementation of projects promoting co-operation and commercial relations between the European Union and the industrialised countries of North America, the Far East and Australasia met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Committee has met four times (on each occasion in Brussels) since it was established in July 2002 (under the Spanish presidency); January 2003 (Greek presidency); January 2004 (Irish presidency); and October 2004 (Dutch presidency). Officials from UK Trade and Investment attended each meeting with the exception of meeting during the Irish presidency.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee for the Adaptation to Technical Progress of Directives on the Removal of Technical Barriers to Trade in the Sector of Cosmetics met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Policy on cosmetic products under Council Directive 76/768/EE is discussed and agreed by the Standing Committee on Cosmetic Products which meets in Brussels four or five times a year. Representatives from the DTI always attend the Committee meetings.

Export Credits Guarantee Department

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when consultation on changes to the anti-bribery and corruption procedures at the Export Credits Guarantee Department will be launched; and when it is expected to end.

Douglas Alexander: The Export Credits Guarantee Department launched a consultation on the changes to its anti-bribery and corruption procedures introduced in December 2004 on 18 March 2005. Details of this can be found on its website at www.ecgd.gov.uk.
	The consultation will close on 18 June 2005.

Export Credits Guarantee Department

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will estimate the costs to be paid by her Department to the plaintiffs, the Corner House in respect of her Department's settlement of the case relating to consultation on Export Credits Guarantee Department forms.

Douglas Alexander: No claim for any particular sum has yet been submitted by the Comer House. As a result no reliable estimate can yet be formulated.

Gaelic Language

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her Department's policy is on the use of the Gaelic language; and what plans her Department has to prepare and implement a Gaelic language scheme.

Patricia Hewitt: Marketing communication materials are translated into Gaelic and other minority or foreign languages according to objectives and target audience requirements.

Large Print Versions

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, if she will require the Insolvency Agency to make available to the public on request large print versions of standard documentation' and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Insolvency Service is fully aware of its responsibilities to its users in line with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Where it is possible to do so the Insolvency Service will accommodate requests made by the public for large print versions of any standard leaflets or documentation.

Minimum Wage

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in the Chorley constituency have benefited from the national minimum wage since its introduction.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Reliable figures cannot be produced for Chorley due to small sample size.
	The DTI estimates that around 120,000 people in the North West of England stood to benefit from the introduction of the national minimum wage in October 1999. It is estimated that around 160,000 people in the North West of England stood to benefit from the October 1999 estimate on the Office for National Statistics' central estimate of low pay; the 2004 estimate is based on data from the annual survey of hours and Earnings.

Minimum Wage (Lancashire)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people have benefited from the minimum wage in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Chorley since its introduction.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The DTI estimates that around 120,000 people in the North West of England stood to benefit from the introduction of the national minimum wage in October 1999. It is estimated that around 160,000 people in the North West of England stood to benefit from the October 2004 uprating of the national minimum wage. The DTI has based the October 1999 estimate on the Office for National Statistics' central estimate of low pay; the 2004 estimate is based on data from the annual survey of hours and earnings.
	(b) Reliable figures cannot be produced for Lancashire due to small sample size.
	(c) Reliable figures cannot be produced for Chorley due to small sample size.

National Minimum Wage

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of the number of people in the (a) London region and (b) Leyton and Wanstead constituency who have benefited from the most recent rise in the national minimum wage.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is as follows:
	(a) The DTI estimates that around 90,000 people in London have benefited from the October 2004 uprating of the national minimum wage. The DTI has based this estimate on the April 2004 annual survey of hours and earnings.
	(b) Reliable figures cannot be produced for Leyton and Wanstead due to small sample size.

National Minimum Wage

Mark Fisher: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of the number of people in Stoke-on-Trent who have benefited from the most recent rise in the national minimum wage.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Reliable figures cannot be produced for Stoke-on-Trent Central due to small sample size.
	The DTI estimates that around 140,000 people in the West Midlands stood to benefit from the October 2004 uprating of the national minimum rage. The DTI has based this estimate on the April 2004 annual survey of hours and earnings.

National Minimum Wage

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) monetary and (b) percentage increase has been of each uprating of the national minimum wage since its introduction.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following tables present the monetary and percentage increase of each uprating of the national minimum wage since its introduction.
	
		Monetary and percentage increases in the adult (6)national minimum wage (NMW) rate
		
			  Adult hourly NMW rate (£) Increase in adult hourly NMW rate (£) Percentage increase in adult hourly NMW rate 
		
		
			 1999 3.60 — — 
			 2000 3.70 0.10 2.8 
			 2001 4.10 0.40 10.8 
			 2002 4.20 0.10 2.4 
			 2003 4.50 0.30 7.1 
			 2004 4.85 0.35 7.8 
		
	
	(6)The adult rate applies to workers aged 22 or above
	
		Monetary and percentage increases in the youth(7) (development) national minimum wage (NMW) rate
		
			  Youth hourly NMW rate (£) Increase in youth hourly NMW rate (£) Percentage increase in youth hourly NMW rate 
		
		
			 1999 3.00 — — 
			 2000 3.20 0.20 6.7 
			 2001 3.50 0.30 9.4 
			 2002 3.60 0.10 2.9 
			 2003 3.80 0.25 6.9 
			 2004 4.10 0.25 6.5 
		
	
	(7)The youth development rate applies to workers aged 18–21

National Minimum Wage

Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in Reading, West constituency have benefited from the national minimum wage since its introduction.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Reliable figures cannot be produced for Reading, West due to small sample size.
	The DTI estimates that around 110,000 people in the South East of England stood to benefit from the introduction of the national minimum wage in October 1999. It is also estimated that around 110,000 people in the South East of England stood to benefit from the October 2004 uprating of the national minimum wage. The DTI has based the October 1999 estimate on the Office for National Statistics' central estimate of low pay; the 2004 estimate is based on data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

National Minimum Wage (Edinburgh)

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in Edinburgh North and Leith constituency have benefited from the national minimum wage since its introduction.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Reliable figures cannot be produced for Edinburgh North and Leith due to small sample size.
	The DTI estimates that around 90,000 people in Scotland stood to benefit from the introduction of the national minimum wage in October 1999. It is estimated that around 130,000 people in Scotland stood to benefit from the October 2004 uprating of the national minimum wage. The DTI has based the October 1999 estimate on the Office for National Statistics' central estimate of low pay; the 2004 estimate is based on data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

National Minimum Wage (Hull)

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in the Kingston upon Hull North constituency have benefited from the national minimum wage since its introduction.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Reliable figures cannot be produced for Kingston upon Hull due to small sample size.
	The DTI estimates that around 100,000 people in Yorkshire and the Humber stood to benefit from the introduction of the national minimum wage in October 1999. It is estimated that around 130,000 people in Yorkshire and the Humber stood to benefit from the October 2004 uprating of the national minimum wage. The DTI has based the October 1999 estimate on the Office for National Statistics' central estimate of low pay; the 2004 estimate is based on data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

Newspaper Distribution

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will publish the economic modelling and analysis used by (a) the Office of Fair Trading and (b) her Department to assess the impact of proposed changes to the UK supply chain for newspapers and magazines.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) plans to publish its draft advisory opinion on the compatibility with competition law of distribution agreements for newspapers and magazines very soon. The draft advisory opinion will provide a fuller explanation of how the OFT reached the conclusions it announced in its 23 February press release. There has been no separate consideration of this matter by the Government.

Newspaper Distribution

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact on small independent retailers of proposed changes to the UK supply chain for newspapers and magazines.

Gerry Sutcliffe: None. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has undertaken an informal consideration of the compatibility with competition law of distribution agreements for newspapers and magazines. In carrying out this work, I understand OFT received and took into account representations from all sides of the newspaper and magazine supply chain. I am aware that representatives of retailers—notably the National Federation of Retail Newsagents—have publicly welcomed the OFT's provisional findings which were announced on 23 February.

Postal Services

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she is taking to improve parcel post services to Orkney and Shetland.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The parcels delivery market is a fully liberalised and competitive market, and many parcel operators offer a range of services to Orkney and Shetland.
	Royal Mail provides the universal service for parcels—the standard three to five day delivery service—which provides for the delivery of parcels weighing up to 20 kg at a uniform price anywhere in the United Kingdom.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and I have been assured by Royal Mail that improving quality of service is the company's top priority.

Press Officers

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many press officers are employed in the Department.

Patricia Hewitt: The number of press officers employed in the Department of Trade and Industry is 18.

Public Information

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what (a) printed public information and (b) other public information is made available by her Department.

Patricia Hewitt: A list of in print publication together with public information covering various topics is available via my Department's website at www.dti.gov.uk.

Regional Development Agency (North-east)

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much investment the regional development agency for the north-east of England has spent in Hartlepool in each year since it was formed.

Jacqui Smith: I have been advised by One NorthEast, the regional development agency for the north-east of England, that targeted spend in Hartlepool since the agency was created has been as follows:
	
		
			  Funding (£) 
		
		
			 1999–2000 5,002,000 
			 2000–01 8,302,048 
			 2001–02 8,483,361 
			 2002–03 9,875,538 
			 2003–04 7,489,115 
			 2004–05 (8)6,154,707 
		
	
	(8)Forecast spend
	Expenditure includes the single regeneration budget, single programme and also land and property expenditure relating to the acquisition and development of Queens Meadow.
	In addition Hartlepool residents and businesses will have benefited from the agency's regional programmes which are aimed at increasing the economic prosperity of the north-east of England. These programmes cannot always be directly attributable to specific localities.
	Examples of One NorthEast's activities in Hartlepool have included improvements to disadvantage housing estates of West View, King Oswy and Central Estate, investment in the Headland and docks, and in the Oakesway Industrial Estate. Further development is planned in Victoria Harbour and the headland area.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Budget

George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the (a) planned capital and (b) resource budget for his Department is for 2011–12.

David Lammy: Resource and capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) budgets up to 2007–08 are set out by department in annex C of Budget 2005. DEL budgets beyond 2007–08 will, as normal, be determined in future Spending Reviews.

Royal Marriage

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to amend section 2 of the Regency Act 1937 to clarify the application of the Act to the future HRH Duchess of Cornwall, consequent upon her husband ascending to the throne.

Christopher Leslie: No.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Are you over 50?"

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of (a) designing, (b) writing, (c) printing and (d) distributing the booklet Are you over 50?", reissued in April 2004.

Jane Kennedy: The information about the costs associated with the revised English and Welsh versions of Are you Over 50?" April 2004 is in the table.
	
		£
		
			  Cost 
		
		
			 Design 1,920.00 
			 Writing Nil 
			 Printing 172,350.00 
			 Distribution (including storage costs) 48,541.00

Benefit Payment Methods

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his Department's policy to give benefit claimants information about all the payment options available, including the Post Office Card Account method, when they apply for benefits.

Chris Pond: It is already the Department's policy to give benefit claimants information about all the payment options available, including the Post Office Card account, when they apply for benefits. This enables them to make an informed decision about which account best meets their individual needs.

British United Shoe Machinery

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much money in the Financial Assistance Scheme will be provided to pensioners of British United Shoe Machinery Limited; and what the average annual payment under the scheme paid to these pensioners will be.

Malcolm Wicks: Estimates cannot be made of the cost of assistance for members of individual schemes until we have received more detailed information; including information on what the scheme pension age is for individual members, their distance from scheme pension age as at 14 May 2004, and their individual losses in the schemes.

British United Shoe Machinery

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and their predecessors and (c) departmental officials have had with (i) Sir Ronald Cohen, (ii) other directors and senior managers of British United Shoe Machinery (BUSM) Limited and (iii) pension fund managers or trustees of BUSM since 1 June 1997 about the collapse of the BUSM pension fund.

Malcolm Wicks: We are not aware of any such discussions taking place with Sir Ronald Cohen, directors or senior mangers of BUSM or managers or trustees of the BUSM pension scheme about the collapse of the BUSM pension fund. However, we are aware of the very difficult situation faced by members of the BUSM pension scheme, and sympathise with their position. I have held many meetings with members of pension schemes that are winding up, including their constituency MPs and Trade Union representatives.
	The Government have introduced a number of measures to strengthen scheme member protection in the Pensions Act 2004. These include the introduction of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), a new pensions regulator and the Financial Assistance Scheme. I can confirm that the BUSM pension scheme is on the indicative list of schemes potentially eligible for the Financial Assistance Scheme.

British United Shoe Machinery

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will commission an inquiry into the collapse of the British United Shoe Machinery pension fund.

Malcolm Wicks: There are no plans to commission such an inquiry into the scheme.
	The Pensions Ombudsman is an independent statutory commissioner and can investigate complaints of injustice resulting from maladministration and disputes of fact or law by the trustees or managers of a scheme, or by an employer on a pensions matter.
	The body responsible for monitoring occupational pension schemes' compliance with statutory duties and functions is the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra). A scheme's auditor and actuary have a statutory duty to report breaches of the law to Opra, which will then investigate any allegations.

New Deal

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents in Crosby have gained work through the new deal programme.

Chris Pond: A total of 350 lone parents in Crosby have gained a job through the new deal for lone parents since the start of the programme in October 1998. Figures for lone parents who have gained work through the other new deal programmes are not available.

New Deal

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women in Crosby have participated in (a) the New Deal for Lone Parents and (b) the New Deal for Partners since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: Through the New Deal we have introduced a wide range of initiatives to help individuals improve their employment prospects by giving them the skills, support and confidence they need to move into work. We have successfully rolled out Work Focused Interviews to provide lone parents with the opportunity to discuss work options and find out about the help available to them. From 12 April 2004 we have enhanced the New Deal for Partners to offer partners taking part in the programme the same level of support as our successful New Deal for Lone Parents programme. We are rolling out Work Focused Interviews for Partners offering greater support to partners of benefit recipients.
	From October 2004 we have piloted a number of initiatives, including Worksearch Premium and In Work Credit, to test out whether barriers to lone parents entering and remaining in work can be removed.
	540 women have started the New Deal for Lone Parents in Crosby since the beginning of the programme in October 1998. Information on the number of women in Crosby who have started the New Deal for Partners is not available.

Occupational Pensions

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason the Financial Services Authority implements payments to those occupational pension holders whose pensions are in deficit or administration at the age of 65 years rather than at the age of retirement stipulated in each scheme.

Malcolm Wicks: The Financial Assistance Scheme is intended to provide those hardest hit by pension scheme wind-ups with assistance funded by the taxpayer. To ensure that the resources provided by the taxpayer are used most effectively, and to keep administration simple and cost-effective, the Financial Assistance Scheme will adopt a single simple set of rules, based on the most common features of occupational pension schemes, rather than attempting to replicate each particular feature of each individual eligible scheme. According to the Occupational Pension Schemes 2000 survey by the Government Actuary's Department, around 2/3 of active members of private sector defined benefit schemes have a retirement age of 65.

Pension Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2005, Official Report, column 1397W, on pension credit, if he will estimate the savings credit take-up rate for (a) those who are entitled to both guarantee credit and savings credit and (b) those who are entitled only to savings credit.

Malcolm Wicks: National statistics on take-up of major DWP benefits are published annually by the Department in Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up". These are based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS) for the relevant year and take account of both entitled non-recipients and non-entitled recipients. However, they are published significantly in arrears and the 2004–05 statistics will not be available for some time.
	Interim figures can be derived by comparing administrative claimant count with entitlement figures derived from the Policy Simulation Model, based on the 2002–03 Family Resources Survey. However administrative and survey figures are not directly comparable and any take-up figure derived this way is indicative only.
	Guarantee element take-up estimates thus formed can be roughly validated by comparison with existing minimum income guarantee entitlement and take-up estimates. However, in the case of savings credit this is not possible. It is thought that take-up for those on both guarantee and savings credit is to the order of 80 per cent. Similarly it is thought that around half of individuals entitled to savings credit only are taking up their entitlement, although there is no way of validating these results.
	The savings element of pension credit is a relatively new entitlement, introduced in October 2003. Weekly entitlement can be up to £15.51 for single pensioners and £20.22 for couples. It is already in payment to over half a million households. The average award was £9.81 as at November 2004, the latest date for which this figure is available.

Pension Credit

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when Mr. David Ross, a constituent of the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, will receive his pension credit.

Malcolm Wicks: A cheque for arrears of pension credit was issued to Mr. Ross on 4 April 2005. He will now receive his pension credit weekly by direct payment into his account.

Pension Credit

Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the number of eligible people not claiming pension credit in (a) Wales, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland, (d) England and (e) Bridgend; and what plans he has to improve take-up.

Malcolm Wicks: Direct, reliable estimates of the number of eligible people not receiving pension credit are not yet available.
	The following table shows indicative, broad brush estimates of eligibility levels in 2004–05, where available, and numbers in receipt of pension credit at the end of December 2004. These sets of figures are derived from survey and administrative sources respectively and are not directly comparable. We plan to publish definitive National Statistics on take-up and entitlement for the first six months of pension credit by the end of 2005.
	The pension service is committed to increasing levels of pension credit take-up. We have already written at least once to every pensioner household in the country to tell them about pension credit and encourage them to apply. We are re-contacting directly, by mail, telephone or personal visit, those people whom we believe are particularly likely to be eligible. New, targeted marketing campaigns seek to overcome the barriers which might prevent take-up of pension credit and the reasons which people give for not applying. The pension service local service continues to work in partnership with local authorities and the voluntary sector, particularly in identifying and contacting older people who are vulnerable or who have yet to take up their entitlement.
	
		Eligibility estimates for pension credit 2004–05 and numbers in receipt of pension credit, December 2004
		
			  Wales Scotland England 
		
		
			 Estimated number of eligible private households, 2004–05 200,000 300,000 3,050,000 
			 Estimated number of eligible individuals, 2004–05 250,000 400,000 4,000,000 
			 Private households in receipt of pension credit, 31 December 2004 148,500 259,400 2,082,400 
			 Individuals in receipt of pension credit, 31 December 2004 184,600 313,700 2,561,500 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Eligibility levels for pension credit are estimated using the 2002–03 Family Resources Survey modelled using the Department's Policy Simulation Model. Results are subject to sampling errors and estimation assumptions, so these projections are indicative only until the publication of the National Statistics estimates of income-related benefits.
	2.Eligibility estimates by country are based on estimates for Government Office Regions. These do not include those in residential care or nursing homes (RCNH). Eligibility estimates are in thousands, rounded to the nearest 50,000.
	3.Numbers in receipt of pension credit are as at the end of December 2004 ascrecorded by General Matching Service data, scaled up to provide month-endcfigures and rounded to the nearest hundred.
	4.Numbers in receipt do not include RCNH recipients. Total numbers in receipt at the end of December have been adjusted by estimated numbers of RCNH recipients, based on the November 2004 QSE administration data and rounded to the nearest 100.
	5.Some individual recipients may be under 60 years of age, where the claimant is aged 60 or over and the partner aged under 60.
	6.Eligibility estimates at constituency level are not available.
	7.Figures for Northern Ireland are not available.

Pensions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what his latest estimate is of the number of companies that are failing in their duty to provide stakeholder pensions;
	(2)  what his latest estimate is of the number of companies that have been fined for failing to provide stakeholder pensions.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) on 27 October 2004, Official Report, column 1289W.

Pensions

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on (a) male and (b) female recipients of the (i) basic State Pension, (ii) SERPS and (iii) pension credit in 2003–04; and how many recipients there were of each.

Malcolm Wicks: pursuant to the reply, 24 March 2005, Official Report, c. 1037W
	The requested information is in the tables.
	
		Great Britain 2003–04 -- Expenditure (£ million, cash terms)
		
			  (i) Basic state pension (ii) SERPS (iii) Pension credit 
		
		
			 (a) Male 16,801 4,727 1,010 
			 (b) Female 22,978 1,951 1,468 
		
	
	
		Recipients (Thousand)
		
			  (i) Basic state pension (ii) SERPS (iii) Pension credit 
		
		
			 (a) Male 4,241 3,597 761 
			 (b) Female 7,011 3,572 1,405 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.All expenditure figures have been rounded to the nearest million pounds. Expenditure recorded on the department's accounting systems has been apportioned between males and females using a 5 per cent. sample of administrative records.
	2.All caseload figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand, and are based on a 5 per cent. sample of administrative records.
	3.A basic State Pension is paid to those who fully or partially satisfy the contribution conditions for a category A or category B basic State Pension.
	4.Category D retirement pensions are not included in the figures.
	5.The SERPS (State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme) figure also includes amounts for state second pension and graduated retirement benefit.
	6.Basic State Pension and SERPS expenditure includes pensions paid to people living overseas.
	7.Pension credit expenditure includes both the guarantee credit and the savings credit. As pension credit was only introduced on 6 October 2003, the 2003–04 expenditure quoted relates only to half a year.
	8.Figures are consistent with the pre-Budget report 2004 and with expenditure information published on the internet at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp (table 3). These tables will shortly be updated with Budget 2005 figures.
	Source:
	Departmental accounts data and 5 per cent. samples of departmental administrative records.

Pensions

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the schemes listed as being potentially eligible for the Financial Assistance Scheme had promised index-linked benefits to some or all of their non-pensioner members.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 March 2005, Official Report, column 1034W to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb).

Pensions Act 2004

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many statutory instruments have been made under the Pensions Act 2004; and how manyremain to be made to implement provisions of the Act.

Malcolm Wicks: To date 43 statutory instruments have been made under the Pensions Act 2004, 31 of which bring into force The Pensions Regulator and Pension Protection Fund from April 2005.
	We anticipate that we will make approximately 60 further statutory instruments over a period of 12 to 18 months to bring into force other provisions of the Act. This estimate may change as the legislation is prepared and as we consult with the pensions industry on particular issues.

Rebates

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of contracted out rebates inthe (a) public and (b) private sector was in the last year for which figures are available; and how many people were covered by contracted out rebates in each sector.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table and based on the numbers contracted-out during the 2002–03 tax year, the latest year for which information is available:
	
		
			 Cost of contracted-out rebates Number of people covered by contracted-out rebates 
		
		
			 Public sector £3.7 billion Public Sector 5.2 million 
			 Private sector £6.8 billion Private Sector 7.6 million 
		
	
	Source:
	Second Tier Pension Provision" published by the Department for Work and Pensions using the Lifetime Labour Market Database which uses a 1 per cent. sample of National Insurance records.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been (a) applied for and (b) granted by the courts in Leicester, in each year since their inception.

Hazel Blears: The available information on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) applied for and issued, on application or following conviction, as notified to the Home Office by the courts in Leicester, is given in the following table.
	
		Number of ASBOs issued, as notified to the Home Office, by type of court in Leicester, 1 June 2000(9) to 30 September 2004
		
			  ASBOs on application(10)  ASBOs on conviction Total issued on application/on 
			 Period Total applications Total issued Total issued conviction 
		
		
			 Magistrates court 
			 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2000 4 4 n/a 4 
			 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001 — — n/a — 
			 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2002 1 1 — 1 
			 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003 1 1 — 1 
			 1 January 2004 to 30 September 2004 — — 4 4 
			 Sub-total 6 6 4 10 
			 The Crown court 
			 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2002 n/a n/a — — 
			 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003 n/a n/a 3 3 
			 1 January 2004 to 30 September 2004 n/a n/a 2 2 
			 Sub-total n/a n/a 5 5 
			  
			 County court 
			 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003 — — n/a — 
			 1 January 2004 to 30 September 2004 1 1 n/a 1 
			 Sub-total 1 1 — 1 
			  
			 Total 7 7 9 16 
		
	
	n/a=Not applicable.
	(9)From 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 data were collected by police force area on aggregate numbers only. During this period one ASBO was notified as issued within Leicestershire.
	(10)Only covers applications dealt with by 30 September 2004.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of 10 to 17-year-olds with an antisocial behaviour order also have an individual support order.

Hazel Blears: The available information is given in the table.
	
		Number of individual support orders(11) given at the magistrates court, England and Wales
		
			  1 May 2004 to 30 September 2004 
		
		
			 ASBOs (age 10–17) (number) 454 
			 Individual support officers (number) 5 
			 Percentage 1 
		
	
	(11)Individual support orders, introduced under section 322 of the Criminal Justice Act, are available at magistrates courts only, as from 1 May 2004, for juveniles (10–17) with ASBOs.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in Leicester in each year since 1999.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The available information is given in the following table.
	
		Number of antisocial behaviour orders issued, at all courts, as notified to the Home Office, wherein restrictions are imposed in the local government area of the City of Leicester, 1 June 2000(12) to 30 September 2004(13)
		
			 Period Total issued 
		
		
			 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2000 4 
			 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001 — 
			 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2002 1 
			 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003 4 
			 1 January 2004 to 30 September 2004 7 
			 Total 16 
		
	
	(12)From 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 data were collected by police force area on aggregate numbers only. During this period one ASBO was notified as issued within Leicestershire.
	(13)Latest available.

Caravans

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been (a) charged and (b) prosecuted for using (i) over-wide and (ii) over-long caravans on roads in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 18 March 2005
	It is not possible to separately identify offences relating to vehicle limit lengths on the Home Office Court Proceeding database.
	Information for Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Office and that for Northern Ireland for the Northern Ireland Office.

Caravans

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is for checking the ownership of caravans used by Travellers.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 18 March 2005
	The Home Office does not have a policy specifically to check whether caravans used by Travellers are stolen. Where caravan theft is an issue of local concern, police forces are able to draw on guidance jointly produced by the Association of Chief Police Officers and bodies representing the interests of caravan users.

CCTV (North Tyneside)

Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications his Department has received from North Tyneside council for funding for CCTV cameras since 1997; what the result was of each application; and how many applications are outstanding.

Hazel Blears: Under rounds 1 and 2 of the Crime Reduction Programme, a national competitive bidding process which ran from 1999 to 2003, North Tyneside did not receive any funding.
	Under subsequent funding streams, North Tyneside received:
	£10,000 for North Tyneside General Hospital CCTV Link and £10,000 for Tynemouth Village CCTV System from the Safer Communities Initiative in 2002–03;
	£40,417 for Wallsend CCTV from the Communities Against Drugs Initiative in 2002–03; and
	£20,000 for CCTV and lighting from the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas Initiative in 2003–04.
	Under the Building Safer Communities and Basic Command Unit funds, no CCTV projects were planned by the North Tyneside Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) in either 2003–04 or 2004–05. The CDRP is currently determining its plans for 2005–06.

Christmas Cards

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many hours of staff time were taken up in preparation of Christmas cards in 2004;
	(2)  how many departmental staff have responsibility for preparing Christmas cards;
	(3)  what percentage of official departmental Christmas cards included a contribution to charity in their cost; and which charities benefited from such a contributions;
	(4)  what the cost of postage was for official departmental Christmas cards in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004;
	(5)  what the cost was of purchasing official departmental Christmas cards in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004;
	(6)  how many official Christmas cards were sent out by his Department in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004.

Fiona Mactaggart: 20,000 official departmental Christmas cards were purchased in 2003 at a cost of £11,750. The original price quoted was £13,630 but because of poor printing quality we were able to negotiate this down. In 2004, 20,270 cards were purchased at a cost of £14,380.47. In both years all cards were sold in aid of Victim Support with 10p per card being donated. The cards are used by the Department's senior managers and sent to external contacts. The information on staff preparation, time and numbers, as well as postage costs is delegated locally and not held centrally. To obtain this information would incur disproportionate costs.

Civil Servants

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were working for each directorate of the National Offender Management Service on 11 February; and where they are based.

Paul Goggins: Staff numbers for 11 February 2005 are not available. However, on 22 November 2004, the following full-time equivalent posts were located in each National Offenders Management Service (NOMS) Directorate:
	
		
			 Directorate Full-time equivalents 
		
		
			 Policy 216.9 
			 Finance 161.9 
			 Standards and Innovation 69.2 
			 Health 87.7 
			 National Offender Manager 17.0 
		
	
	In addition, the following full-time equivalent posts were located in units that were working for NOMS headquarters but were not attached to a NOMS headquarters directorate:
	
		
			  Full-time equivalents 
		
		
			 Chief Executive's Office 7.0 
			 NOMS Programme Office 12.0 
			 Office for Contracted Prisons 66.0 
			 HR Sub-Programme 3.0 
		
	
	The posts in the HR Sub-Programme were based in the Prison Service Headquarters. All of the other posts were based in NOMS headquarters.

Community Support Officers

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers there have been in (a) the South Tyneside Area Command and (b) Northumbria in each year since their inception.

Hazel Blears: The first community support officers (CSOs) were introduced into Northumbria in 2003–04. I am informed by the Chief Constable that the first deployment of CSOs to the South Tyneside Area was on 10 January when six were allocated to the area. South Tyneside should have 11 CSOs by 1 April.
	The table sets out the number of CSOs for the Northumbria police.
	
		
			  Number of community support officers 
		
		
			 31 March 2004 (14)51 
			 14 February 2005 (15)77 
		
	
	(14)Source Police Strength statistics collected by Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate.
	(15)Collection made outside of the normal quarterly collection of police strength data.

Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter dated 13 September 2004 from the hon. Member for Brent, East regarding Mrs. Helen Adumekwe.

Hazel Blears: Unfortunately, there was no record of the hon. Member's letter being received in the Home Office. We have since obtained a copy and I shall reply shortly.

Correspondence

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 25 February from the hon. Member for Northavon regarding a visa application by a constituent, Mr. Swaine.

Des Browne: holding answer 14 March 2004
	I wrote to the hon. Member on 5 April 2005.

Credit Card Fraud

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Chip and PIN cards in preventing credit card fraud.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 16 March 2005
	Chip and PIN is a major finance and retail industry anti-fraud initiative. The introduction of Chip and PIN has been managed by the Chip and PIN Programme Management Organisation, and actively supported by Government.
	Following a successful public trial, national roll out of the scheme began in October 2003 with the aim that by 2005 a majority of plastic card transactions should be Chip and PIN. The Chip and PIN programme announced in January that it reached all its 2004 targets for the roll out with customer research demonstrating that 71 per cent. of cardholders expect their next transaction to be Chip and PIN and 45 per cent. now using it for all or most of their card payments.
	It is currently too early to assess the effects of Chip and PIN in preventing credit card fraud. The impact of Chip and PIN on card fraud is expected to be seen early in 2005 and hence will first be reflected in the APACS mid-year card fraud figures to June 2005, which will be available in the summer.

Credit Card Fraud

David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of current efforts to reduce internet based 'card-not-present' credit card fraud.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 16 March 2005
	The Government works with the police and industry to tackle fraud and other online crime through a number of initiatives. A key factor in dealing with online fraud is prevention and education and the Government takes an active role in educating computer users about the risks of fraud committed through the internet. The Home Office website provides advice on avoiding internet fraud and the Home Office has also created, and maintains the 'e-tailing mini site', which forms part of the crime reduction website. The mini site provides information to help both businesses and consumers protect themselves specifically when using the internet.
	The Home Office is represented on an industry-led Steering Group which aims to tackle 'Card Not Present' (CNP) fraud (which includes fraud over the internet). We support practical measures being introduced by the industry to increase levels of security for internet transactions. These include Address Verification Services (AVS) and Card Security Code (CSC), which inform merchants' decisions on whether to proceed with an order. AVS/CSC can provide immediate results, with APACS reporting that some merchants have reduced their fraud levels by up to 80 per cent. Card schemes MasterCard and Visa have also introduced the 3D Secure system, known as MasterCard Secure Code or Verified by Visa, which requires password verification for internet transactions. The work of the CNP Steering Group has also led to the production of a manual (Spot and Stop Card Fraud Retailer Pack) which aims to educate merchants on the dangers of CNP fraud and the steps which can be taken to prevent it.
	Government are also involved in the development of Project Endurance, an initiative which will launch a computer and internet security public awareness campaign this year. The project is an alliance of public and private sector, which brings together a number of UK Government departments and law enforcement organisations with a number of high-profile private sector companies. This campaign is to be targeted at micro businesses and consumers, primarily aimed at helping these users gain confidence in using the internet, and protect themselves and their computer while online.
	The Association for Payment Clearing Services (a banking industry body) considers that the recently announced increase in card not present fraud shows growth only in proportion to the increasing number of businesses now offering non face-to-face transactions, in particular over the internet.

Deaths Abroad

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to establish a system of discretionary rather than mandatory inquests for violent or suspicious deaths abroad; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: At present coroners in England and Wales are required to hold inquests into deaths which occur overseas only if the body is repatriated, the death is reported to them, and the death would have been subject to an inquest if it had occurred in England and Wales.
	The Government commissioned an independent report—Death Certification and Investigation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the report of a Fundamental Review" [Cm 5831] which was presented to Parliament in 2003. It included recommendations on coroners' responsibilities for deaths abroad (pages 136–139) and proposed that public inquests should be at the discretion of coroners, but with an expectation that they would take place in particular circumstances.
	Drawing on the recommendations of the review, and taking full account of the Third Report of the Shipman Inquiry which was also published [Cm 5854] in 2003, we outlined our intention to proceed with coroner and death certification reform in a position paper presented to Parliament in March 2004 [Cm 6159]. We are concluding detailed work currently and will put forward firm plans, including the handling of coroners' investigations into deaths abroad, as soon as we can.

Departmental Policies (Newcastle-under-Lyme)

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for theHome Department how much has been spent on tackling drugs misuse in Newcastle-under-Lyme since 1997.

Caroline Flint: A breakdown of financial allocations to local constituencies is not available in the form requested, as funding is allocated to Drug Action Teams (DATs). In this case, the figures given are those for Staffordshire DAT, which covers Tamworth, Staffordshire Moorlands, Burton, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Staffordshire and Stone.
	Direct annual funding nationally to tackle drug misuse amounted to £1,244 million in 2003–04, rising to £1,344 million in 2004–05. Staffordshire DAT has seen a significant increase in direct funding for tackling drugs, in particular for drug treatment services and the throughcare and aftercare elements of the Drug Interventions Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for Staffordshire DAT amounted to £4.38 million, rising to £5.16 million in 2004–05.

Domestic Violence

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that the recommendations of the joint Crown Prosecution Service and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary inquiry, Violence in the Home, are being implemented in all police areas.

Hazel Blears: Under the leadership of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), comprehensive guidance on investigating domestic violence has been produced by the National Centre for Policing Excellence. This guidance was launched at the ACPO domestic violence conference in November 2004 and is currently being implemented by all police forces with the assistance of the National Centre for Policing Excellence.
	The guidance has incorporated all of the relevant recommendations from the HMCPSI/HMIC report. ACPO has agreed with the Home Office and CPS a common definition of domestic violence. This is the definition used by the ACPO guidance on investigating domestic violence.
	The new guidance is also supplemented by the Centrex modular training package on domestic violence. This training package was subjected to an annual update and has been recently re-released to all police forces in England and Wales. The update includes the incorporation of information from the HMCPSI/HMIC Thematic report and the ACPO guidance on investigating domestic violence.

Drug-related Crime

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested for crimes connected with (a) cocaine and (b) heroin use in each constituency in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: Data on crimes related to the drugs specified are not currently collated at constituency level. The Home Office collates data at police force level on arrests for property crimes, but do not record whether they are related to an offender's drug habit. However, data on drug offenders are collated at police force level.
	Data on the numbers of people arrested for cocaine and heroin offences in the United Kingdom are available in the Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom" Home Office statistical bulletin 2001 and 2002, and the Drug Offenders finding, for England and Wales 2003. The area tables accompanying these publications provide a break down at police force level.
	Copies are available in the Library of the House and on the RDS website at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/hosb0804.pdf%5D

Drug-related Crime

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested for crimes connected with (a) cannabis, (b) cocaine, (c) ecstasy and (d) heroin use in each constituency in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 24 March 2005
	Data on crimes related to the drugs specified are not currently collated at constituency level. The Home Office collates data at police force level on arrests for property crimes, but do not record whether they are related to an offender's drug habit. However, data on drug offenders are collated at police force level.
	Data on the numbers of people arrested for cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy and heroin offences in the United Kingdom are available in the Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom" Home Office statistical bulletin 2001 and 2002, and the Drug Offenders finding, for England and Wales 2003. The area tables accompanying these publications provide a break down at police force level. Copies are available in the Library and on the RDS website at: http://uk.sitestat. com/homeoffice/homeoffice/s?rds.hosb0804pdf&ns_type= pdf&ns_url=%5Bhttp://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/hosb0804.pdf%5D

Drugs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of how much (a) heroin, (b) cocaine and (c) cannabis was sold in (a) cash value and (b) weight terms in each year since 1975.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not centrally available.

Emergency Calls

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average response time for police to 999 calls was in (a) Hartlepool and (b) England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary (HMCIC) publishes statistics of the percentage of 999 calls answered within target time. The latest available statistics relate to 2002–03 and 2003–04 and are published in Table 5 of HMCIC's Annual Report. The publication is available via the Home Office website at:
	http://www.official-documents.co.uk/document/deps/hc/hc171 /171.pdf
	The equivalent figures for earlier years are available from previous annual reports, copies of which should be in the Library. These statistics are only available at police force area level and figures are not available for Hartlepool.

Equip for Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a comprehensive risk assessment has been carried out by the Metropolitan Police Service on the outsourcing of the Equip for Service facility at Northolt.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 1 March 2005
	Decisions relating to the use of resources are a matter for the Commissioner and the Police Authority.
	The Commissioner of police of the Metropolis informs me that the Metropolitan Police Service conducted a comprehensive risk assessment on the outsourcing of the Equip for Service function in early 2004. From the assessment he is confident that all the risks are manageable.

Equip for Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what impact outsourcing the Equip for Service facility at Northolt will have on each London borough and their ability to deliver the national crime reduction strategy.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 1 March 2005
	Decisions relating to the use of resources are a matter for the Commissioner and the Police Authority.
	The Commissioner of police of the Metropolis informs me that the outsourcing will not affect the Service capacity to police each London borough or to deliver the national crime reduction strategy.

Essex Police

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the HomeDepartment what plans there are to amalgamate divisional police commands in Essex.

Hazel Blears: The operational control and direction of police resources is vested in the local chief constable. Inevitably this includes where and how resources are deployed and the supporting structures for service delivery. This is not a matter over which Ministers, quite rightly, have any direct influence and I am not therefore in a position to be able to answer this question.

Ex-prisoners

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the ex-prisoner groups which have received funding from his Department in the 2004–05 financial year; and how much funding each has received.

Paul Goggins: There is no record of any funding being provided to ex-offender groups, we do however try to include ex-offender groups in all relevant information, discussion groups, conferences and other related events. There may be instances where individual prison governors or probation areas provide funding for specific service provision, but we do not hold this information centrally.

Gun/Knife Crime

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on levels of (a) gun crime and (b) knife crime since 1995.

Caroline Flint: Excluding air weapons, in 1995, there were 5,866 recorded firearms offences. In 2003–04, the total number of recorded offences was 10,338. This figure includes incidents in which a firearm is fired, used as a blunt instrument against a person, or used in a threat, and includes handguns, shotguns and rifles, as well as imitations, and other firearms (e.g. stun guns, CS gas). However, it is important to remember that these figures may be affected by changes in reporting and recording and, in particular, figures for some offences may have been inflated by the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. In 1995, 70 homicides were committed using a firearm; in 2003–04, the total was 68 homicides.
	Figures for knife crime are not collected separately from statistics for offences of violence against the person. However, in 1995, there were 243 homicides using a sharp instrument (including knives, broken bottles, etc). In 2003–04, there were 237 homicides using a sharp instrument.
	We are fully committed to taking action to reduce levels of gun and knife crime. Our strategy on both fronts includes working with police, other statutory agencies, the voluntary sector, and also with the community, who have a major role to play in dealing with these issues.
	We have tightened firearms legislation by banning the sale, manufacture and import of guns that use self-contained gas cartridge systems (e.g. Brococks) and have made it an arrestable offence to carry an imitation or air gun in public without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. We have also introduced a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for anyone convicted of unlawful possession of an illegal firearm. We are conducting a comprehensive review of the firearms legislation, which includes a careful look at whether there are areas of the legislation which need to be strengthened.
	We have provided £2.25 million from recycled criminal assets in 2004–05 to support gun crime work in England and Wales, including £250,000 for the second round of the Connected Fund, which supports small community groups involved in a wide variety of local projects.
	On knife crime, we recently announced a package of proposals, including:
	raising the minimum age for purchasing a knife to 18. This would bring the sale of knives into line with the sale of fireworks and alcohol;
	adding new categories of knife now being used in crime to the list of banned offensive weapons;
	providing a power to require specified licensed premises to search for an offensive weapon on entry;
	giving head teachers a new power to search pupils for knives;
	pulling together best practice from initiatives and schemes focusing on knife crime;
	developing local crime reduction and enforcement strategies on dealing with the carrying of knives.

Indonesian Rainforest Timber

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Indonesian rainforest timber has been used in (a) the new Home Office building at 2 Marsham street, (b) the contents of the building and (c) construction of the building; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: No Indonesian rainforest timber has been procured for the new Home Office headquarters building at 2 Marsham street.
	In respect of Indonesian rainforest timber used in the construction process, I would refer the right hon. Member to the Report on the Procurement of Timber for the Re-development of 2 Marsham street of June 2003 which has been placed in the Library.

Infectious Diseases (UK Entrants)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria the Government have set to determine whether to test an individual for tuberculosis.

Charles Clarke: It is long standing policy that people subject to immigration control who are seeking to enter the UK for more than six months from countries which are high risk for tuberculosis (i.e. have an annual incidence rate of over 40 cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 population) and port asylum claimants should be checked for tuberculosis.

Infectious Diseases (UK Entrants)

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to public funds has been of testing people entering the UK for tuberculosis in each year since 1997.

Charles Clarke: The immigration service does not have any details regarding the cost of providing this service.
	The department of health advises that where tuberculosis (TB) checks are carried out at ports of entry in the UK, the costs are met from health budgets. The Department of health does not collect centrally the cost to local NHS bodies of providing medical inspectors.

Inquests (Teesside)

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time between death and inquest in the jurisdiction of the coroner for Teesside was in 2004; and what the average time between death and inquest was in other coroners' jurisdictions in (a) the North East and (b) England and Wales in that year.

Paul Goggins: Figures for 2004 are not yet available.
	Figures for 2003 show that the coroner for Teesside had an average time of 35.6 weeks for completed inquests. The 2003 figure for the remainder of the coroners in the North East region was an average time of 24.8 weeks and for the whole of England and Wales the average time for completed inquests was 19.5 weeks.

International Terrorism

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the security services have advised the Government that powers to imprison suspected terrorists without normal trial would be helpful in tackling international terrorism.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 21 March 2005
	The then Home Secretary my right hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett) took account of advice from the Security Service and police, after the attacks of 11 September 2001, on the measures necessary to defend the UK and its interests against similar terrorist attacks. This resulted in the Anti-terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001—including the Part 4 provisions relating to the detention of foreign nationals who could not be deported.
	The Government have accepted the Lords' judgment of 16 December 2004 that the Part 4 powers of the Anti-terrorism Crime and Security Act are discriminatory and therefore disproportionate. Accordingly, it decided that detention in such circumstances was no longer appropriate. The measures contained in the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 are the result of consultation with the police, and Security Service about the best way to deal with the problems posed by suspected terrorists who cannot be prosecuted.

Members' Security

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to increase levels of security provided for (a) Ministers and (b) hon. Members.

Charles Clarke: We do not comment on the security levels of individuals. The security of individuals is continually reviewed to ensure it is in line with the threat.

Mental Health Services (Trafford Police)

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2005, Official Report, column 777W, what decisions were reached between Trafford police division and the local primary health care trust at their meeting on 22 February; and what timetable was set for the provision of a place of safety as defined by the Mental Health Bill.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 3 March 2005
	The question relates to operational issues for the Greater Manchester police, which are matters for the chief officer. Therefore, I have asked the chief officer to respond directly to the hon. Member. I have also asked the chief officer to forward a copy of the response to my Department and I will arrange for a copy of the correspondence to be placed in the Library.

National Offender Management Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when regional offender managers will (a) assume their roles on a full-time basis and (b) cease to operate in their current posts within the prison and probation services.

Paul Goggins: All 10 Regional Offender Managers are now in post. In addition, the Regional Offender Manager for the East of England will retain his current role in the Office of Contracted Prisons until April 2007.

Neighbourhood Watch

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to provide financial support to the National Neighbourhood Watch Association; and if he will make a statement on his Department's assessment of the association's work.

Hazel Blears: The Home Office has not made a formal assessment of the National Neighbourhood Watch Association's (NNWA) work. The NNWA does, however, play a role as a voice for many volunteers within the Neighbourhood Watch movement. The NNWA is a registered charity which is independent of Government and as such is responsible for assessing its own capabilities and strategy.
	I understand that the NNWA has recently managed to secure core funding from a private sector sponsor which should secure the organisation's financial position. The Government did, however, grant the NNWA £25,000 during March 2005 to cover the organisation's essential running costs pending the start of this new sponsorship arrangement. We have no plans to provide further funding to the NNWA.
	The main support to local Neighbourhood Watch schemes is in the form of partnership working from the police, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, and the community safety departments of local authorities. We have asked police services to ensure these arrangements are robust. We have also provided a website to encourage the sharing of good practice, www.neighbourhoodwatch.uk.com and we are in the process of setting up a telephone advice line. In addition the Government have made sure that public liability insurance cover is available for all Neighbourhood Watch groups in England and Wales, including those groups which are not affiliated to the NNWA.
	Home Office support for local groups includes the printing and distribution of Neighbourhood Watch publications worth £100,000 pa. Additionally a new quarterly newsletter, called 'Community link' has been published to help spread good practice and new ideas among grassroots Neighbourhood Watch volunteers.

Organised Crime

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research he has conducted to develop a model for assessing different forms of organised crime; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: Officials have been working on measures to estimate the economic and social harms caused by organised crime, and the turnover of organised crime groups. It is intended to publish this work this summer

Overseas Bribery

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions his Department has received representations from police forces about lack of resources available for investigations into overseas bribery.

Hazel Blears: We have received no formal representation of this kind from police forces. However, we are aware from discussions with them that some police forces have expressed some concerns about the potential cost of investigations into overseas bribery.

Police

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police constabularies have a race and diversity policy or strategy.

Hazel Blears: All police forces have a Race Equality Scheme under the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.

Police

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government are planning to change the discipline system for police officers who have acted in a discriminatory way.

Hazel Blears: We are considering changes to the police disciplinary system rising from the review of the police disciplinary arrangements conducted by William Taylor, the report from the Commission for Racial Equality on the Police Service in England and Wales and the review conducted by Sir William Morris entitled The Case for Change: People in the Metropolitan Police Service". This consideration will address discriminatory behaviour and other misconduct issues.

Police (Child Abuse)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what disciplinary procedure a police officer who breached the Association of Chief Police Officers' guidance on anonymity until the point of charge for individuals accused of abuse would face.

Hazel Blears: Police officers have a duty of confidentiality and information should only be divulged to third parties lawfully and in the proper course of their duties. A breach of anonymity may constitute a breach of the Police Conduct Regulations 2004 and the force concerned would be obliged to investigate the matter. Where a complaint was received from a member of the public, the complaint would normally be referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, who would determine how the complaint should be handled and the nature of any subsequent investigation.
	It would also be for the Chief Officer or, in cases involving Chief Officers, the relevant Police Authority to determine whether the nature of any suspected breach of anonymity was sufficient to warrant an officer's suspension. Disciplinary proceedings would only be initiated at the conclusion of the investigation and the point of charge, where appropriate.

Police Constables (Probation)

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the average annual cost of (a) employing, (b) training and (c) developing a probationary police constable in the last year for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 17 March 2005
	Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary have estimated that the average salary, training and development costs of a probationary police constable up to independent patrol (which is normally 31 weeks after joining a force) in 2003–04 were £27,048. This figure includes salary costs of £13,993 per probationary police constable for that period and training and development costs of £13,055.
	Information about the associated costs for recruitment, supervision, accommodation, information technology etc. is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Police Detection Rates

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on trends in police detection rates.

Hazel Blears: The Home Office reviews the performance of police forces on the basis of their sanction detection rate. The sanction detection rate is the percentage of crimes for which someone is charged, summonsed, receives a caution or other formal sanction.
	The trend in police performance in sanction detections is now improving. Trends have, however, varied over the last two decades.
	Between 1988 and 1996, there was a gradual decline in the sanction detection rate from 27 per cent. to 17.35 per cent. The rate then rose between 1996 and 1999 reaching 22 per cent. Since then, the rate has been affected by two changes which make comparisons more difficult to make: more stringent counting rules in relation to detections have taken place and a new National Crime Recording Standard was introduced inflating the number of offences against which the rate was calculated. The sanction detection rate fell after 1999 but then stabilised at around 19 per cent. between 2001–02 and 2003–04.
	The Government have made clear their desire to raise performance in this area. It has set a goal of achieving a sanction detection rate of 25 per cent. by 2007–08. To achieve that improvement, a major drive has been under way to both raise rates and also to address unacceptable variations in detections performance between forces. This includes ensuring that forces prioritise and maximise investigative outcomes and that officers and other police staff have the best training and the right skills to improve the proportion of offences brought to justice.
	Provisional data for 2004–05 indicate that improvements are now being achieved and the sanction detection rate has improved in each of the last 10 months.

Police Officers (Hours of Work)

David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officer hours have been spent on road traffic duties in each of the last three years.

Caroline Flint: This information is not available.

Police Salaries

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average salary of (a) a newly trained police constable and (b) a community support officer is, broken down by police force.

Charles Clarke: Average salary information is not available.
	The table shows the salary of a police constable on completion of initial training and the relevant regional allowance, and community support officers' salaries and allowances, as provided by forces for funding purposes for community support officers to be recruited January to March 2005.
	The pay scales for police constables range from £19,803 for a newly recruited officer, rising to £31,092 for an officer with 11 year's service. Additionally, a constable who has served at the top of the pay scale for one year has access to a competence-related threshold payment of £1,032 per year.
	There is no national pay scale for community support officers.
	
		£
		
			  Constable CSO 
			 Forces Basic pay Allowances Basic Allowance 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 22,107 — 15,732 3,775 
			 Bedfordshire 22,107 1,000 16,573 3,943 
			 Cambridgeshire 22,107 — 14,612 3,507 
			 Cheshire 22,107 — 18,510 5,535 
			 City of London 24,045 4,338 20,889 6,343 
			 Cleveland 22,107 — 14,424 4,352 
			 Cumbria 22,107 — 16,150 3,895 
			 Derbyshire 22,107 — 14,424 4,217 
			 Devon and Cornwall 22,107 — 16,149 2,021 
			 Dorset 22,107 — 15,818 2,867 
			 Durham 22,107 — 14,424 3,051 
			 Dyfed-Powys 22,107 — 17,750 3,994 
			 Essex 22,107 2,000 15,731 4,180 
			 Gloucestershire 22,107 — 15,732 4,248 
			 Greater Manchester 22,107 — 16,287 3,632 
			 Gwent 22,107 — 15,731 5,506 
			 Hampshire 22,107 1,000 18,842 3,203 
			 Hertfordshire 22,107 2,000 20,410 2,752 
			 Humberside(16) 22,107 — 17,100 — 
			 Kent(17) 22,107 2,000 19,487 534 
			 Lancashire 22,107 — 14,748 3,540 
			 Leicestershire 22,107 — 15,732 3,706 
			 Lincolnshire 22,107 — 12,668 2,000 
			 Merseyside 22,107 — 14,424 2,740 
			 Metropolitan 24,045 4,338 18,495 4,696 
			 Norfolk 22,107 — 15,731 3,146 
			 Northamptonshire 22,107 — 17,973 4,943 
			 Northumbria 22,107 — 15,731 3,539 
			 North Wales 22,107 — 15,813 4,581 
			 North Yorkshire 22,107 — 17,746 4,710 
			 Nottinghamshire 22,107 — 16,288 4,317 
			 South Wales 22,107 — 17,252 5,037 
			 South Yorkshire 22,107 — 16,836 2,528 
			 Staffordshire 22,107 — 14,004 4,201 
			 Suffolk 22,107 — 16,435 4,536 
			 Surrey 22,107 2,000 17,958 1,000 
			 Sussex 22,107 1,000 15,650 3,612 
			 Thames Valley 22,107 2,000 17,220 4,268 
			 Warwickshire 22,107 — 15,731 4,168 
			 West Mercia 22,107 — 14,090 3,750 
			 West Midlands 22,107 — 18,500 — 
			 West Yorkshire 22,107 — 15,035 5,101 
			 Wiltshire 22,107 — 16,476 2,306 
		
	
	(16)Shift allowance is included in basic salary.
	(17)This figure is when the higher of one of two Kent location allowances is paid, the salary plus allowance figure when the lower location allowance is paid is £165 less.

Police Stations/Cell Blocks

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list (a) all newly built police stations which have not been used and (b) all newly built police cell blocks which have not been used which are not in use due to staff resource constraints; giving the full construction cost of each.

Hazel Blears: We do not keep central records of when newly built police buildings are completed or brought into use.

Police Stations/Cell Blocks

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of (a) newly built police stations and (b) newly built police cell blocks for which private finance initiative contracts were agreed and which do not meet the Home Office guidelines.

Hazel Blears: As far as I am aware there are no newly built police stations or cell blocks for which private finance initiative (PFI) contracts were agreed and which do not meet the principles of the Home Office guidelines that were in operation at the time contracts were let.

Prevention of Terrorism Bill

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Bill will be subject to Sewel motions.

Charles Clarke: Terrorism is a reserved matter. A Sewel motion is not necessary in respect of any of the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the likely effects of the programme of mothballing prison places;
	(2)  how many prison places have been mothballed at each (a) public and (b) privately operated prison establishment.

Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has implemented a plan to reduce overcrowding levels in some establishments and take out of use some accommodation due for refurbishment slightly earlier than planned. Both these measures will improve prison conditions.
	The prison population will be carefully monitored and the accommodation brought back into use should this be necessary.

Sexual Abuse (Historical Cases)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of prisoners interviewed by the police in relation to historical sex abuse cases were taken to (a) an external location and (b) a specially equipped suite for their interview in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of prisoners interviewed by the police in relation to historical sex abuse cases were taken to (a) an external location and (b) a specially equipped suite for their interview in each of the last five years.

Hazel Blears: This information is not available.

Special Constables (Cheshire)

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there were in Cheshire in (a) 1997 and (b) 2005.

Hazel Blears: At 31 March 1997 there were 475 special constables in Cheshire. Figures for 2005 are not yet available.

Targets

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of whether the public service agreement target to reduce robbery in the 10 Street Crime Initiative areas by 14 per cent. from 1999–2000 levels by 2005 will be met.

Hazel Blears: Performance against the Home Office targets is published in the Annual Report and the Autumn Performance Report available in the Library and on the Home Office website (www.homeoffice.gov.uk).

Terrorist Suspects (False Identity)

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the information he has received on the use of false identities by terrorist suspects.

Charles Clarke: The Home Office receives information from a variety of sources on the use of false identities by terrorists and those suspected of terrorism. Due to the nature of the information much of it is classified and cannot be published.

Transport Staff (Assaults)

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for the HomeDepartment how many violent attacks against (a) London Underground staff, (b) staff employed on the railways, (c) traffic police, (d) traffic wardens, (e) British Transport Police and (f) bus drivers there have been in each year since 1990.

Hazel Blears: The only information which is collected centrally by the Home Office relates to assaults on traffic wardens in England and Wales and is only available for the last two financial years. In 2002–03, there were two recorded assaults resulting in serious injury and 63 recorded assaults resulting in minor or no injury. In 2003–04, there were 21 assaults resulting in minor or no injury.
	The British Transport Police publish limited statistics on the number of officers and staff who are assaulted. The latest figures are contained in 'Statistical Bulletin 2003–04' which is available on their website at:
	http://www.btp.police.uk/publications.htm

Vehicle Immobilisation (Licensing)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken in response to the Security Industry Authority's request to postpone the 20 March 2006 implementation date for vehicle immobilisation personnel licensing.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 17 March 2005
	The original implementation date for vehicle immobilisers on private land to be licensed by the Security Industry Authority was 28 February 2005. Due to problems with a training provider confirming qualification details, this offence date has been deferred until 3 May 2005. This will to allow individuals sufficient time to comply with the regulations.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the projects in Africa (a) initiated, (b) fully funded, (c) partly funded and (d) run by his Department aimed at the diversification of the economies of African countries, with particular reference to Malawi; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: It would incur a disproportionate cost to approach all country offices, to identify and list all projects in Africa directly or indirectly funded by DFID to support economic diversification.
	DFID's general approach to promoting economic growth covers: creating and maintaining a conducive investment environment for all types of businesses—large and small, foreign and domestic, urban and rural; promoting trade and business linkages; providing broad access to assets and markets, especially for poor people and reducing insecurity and vulnerability, for instance through social protection schemes. Many DFID programmes in African countries incorporate projects which address one or more of these and therefore contribute to diversifying economic activity.
	In the case of Malawi, the greatest impediment to economic diversification and growth in recent years has been macroeconomic instability and the very high interest rates resulting from the previous Government's poor economic management. This led to a collapse in investment. Economic management has improved markedly since the May 2004 elections. In recognition of this, DFID is providing poverty reduction budget support (£15 million in 2004–05) to the new Government to enable it to stabilise the economy and bring interest rates down while continuing to provide essential services. There has been encouraging progress since the elections and there are good prospects for a new International Monetary Fund programme during 2005.
	In addition to budget support, DFID supported several specific growth-related projects in Malawi. These include the Financial Services Project, which is jointly funded, by DFID (£3 million) and the US Agency for International Development (US$2.1 million). It uses the Opportunity International Bank of Malawi to expand financial services to poor Malawians and small and medium-sized enterprises. Another financial services project is run by Concern Universal, and aims to develop methods of providing loans to poor Malawians on a fully sustainable basis. The project works only in rural Malawi, and seeks to support micro and small enterprises, and to provide new opportunities for trading and agro-processing businesses. DFID is also fully funding the reconstruction of the Rivirivi railway bridge, which was washed away by floods in 2003. This will facilitate the resumption of rail services between Lilongwe and Nacala port in Mozambique, providing a major boost to economic diversification.

Darfur

Hilton Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the food situation in Darfur.

Hilary Benn: The food security situation in Darfur is precarious. Of immediate concern are the increasing signs of food shortages among the general population, expected after the failure of the 2004 harvest season.
	In February 2005 the World Food Programme (WFP) distributed food for 1.6 million beneficiaries from a target of 2 million in Darfur (80 per cent.). The shortfall was due to security, access and logistics difficulties, though it is a significant improvement on the January distribution figures of 1.2 million from a 1.8 million target (66 per cent.).
	Nutrition levels continue to be a concern across Darfur and the picture is mixed. According to UNICEF there is growing evidence that the nutritional situation in select parts of Darfur is improving. The agency stated that admissions to therapeutic feeding centres have stabilised and decreased in most locations, indicating a potential decrease in the global acute malnutrition rate. However, in South Darfur, feeding centres run by Action Contra la Faim and Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) in Kalma Camp are operating at maximum capacity and the WFP has advised its partners to continue blanket supplementary feeding to improve children's nutrition. Meanwhile, World Vision continues to report high admission rates in Mershing, Manawashi and Duma feeding centres. In North Darfur an MSF rapid health and nutrition assessment of 330 children in Dali camp indicated that 10.7 per cent. were moderately malnourished and 0.9 per cent. severely malnourished.
	The UN is beginning to pre-position food stocks ready for the rainy season. Jan Pronk, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative to Sudan, has commented that although humanitarian access is still only 75 per cent., for the first time the humanitarian situation appears containable.

Guinea

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much (a) financial and (b) logistical aid his Department (i) has provided to Guinea in each year since 1997 and (ii) is planning to provide to Guinea in financial year 2005–06 with the specific aim of reforming, widening and strengthening the education system in Guinea.

Hilary Benn: The UK does not have a bilateral development programme with Guinea but the Department for International Development has provided the following assistance since 1997 (final figures for 2004–05 are not yet available):
	
		£000
		
			 Aid type 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Heavily indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Relief — — — — 12 14 15 
			 Humanitarian Assistance 134 54 30 500 — 1,250 1,500 
			 Small Grants Scheme and Joint Funding Scheme 6 20 91 69 32 61 70 
			 Total 141 74 122 569 44 1,325 1,585 
		
	
	None of this support had the specific aim of reforming, widening and strengthening the education system.
	The United Kingdom also provides substantial assistance through the European Union's aid programmes:
	
		£ million
		
			  Total EC assistance Attributed UK share 
		
		
			 1997 23.24 3.3 
			 1998 30.07 4.5 
			 1999 25.77 3.4 
			 2000 10.29 2.3 
			 2001 9.95 1.7 
			 2002 28.10 3.4 
			 2003 28.18 n/a 
		
	
	We have no plans to provide funding to the education sector in Guinea during 2005–06.

World Bank

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he had with the United States Administration on the proposed nomination by President Bush of Mr. Paul Wolfowitz for the post of President of the World Bank; and what the Government's policy on the nomination of Mr. Wolfowitz to this post is.

Hilary Benn: Following the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz for President of the World Bank I discussed with Mr. Wolfowitz the work the Bank is doing in reducing international poverty, and to hear his own views on the future of the Bank. I also attended a meeting organised by the Luxembourg EU Presidency at which Mr. Wolfowitz spoke. Subsequently, the UK, along with all other World Bank members, supported Mr. Wolfowitz's appointment at a meeting of the World Bank Board on 31 March. Following his appointment, the UK and other European Executive Directors issued a statement, a copy of which has been placed in the both Libraries of the House.
	I look forward to working with Mr. Paul Wolfowitz in the fight against world poverty and to secure more and better aid, multilateral debt relief and a fairer world trade system.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Antrim Hospital

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to increase (a) ward and (b) bed numbers at Antrim hospital.

Angela Smith: In July 2004, a new 10-bed short stay ward for patients requiring observation or short-term treatment was opened at Antrim Area hospital.
	In addition, under the Reform and Re-investment initiative, funding has been made available for the construction of an additional 24-bed ward that is expected to open towards the end of 2005.
	Further expansion of Antrim Area hospital is being considered in the context of the implementation of Developing Better Services", and the United Hospitals Trust and the Northern Health and Social Services Board are currently developing a detailed business case in this regard.

Asbestos (Schools)

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how (a) the funding made available by the Department of Education in 2003–04 to enable Education and Library Boards to survey all schools and prepare for the introduction of the new asbestos regulations and (b) the funding which the Department of Education allocated in 2004–05 towards the removal, decontamination work or repair and remedial work for the same purpose where it is necessary was distributed.

Barry Gardiner: The following table shows the distribution of recurrent funding to each Education and Library Board in 2003–04 to enable them to survey all schools and prepare for the introduction of the new asbestos regulations, and in 2004–05 towards the removal, decontamination work or repair/remedial work, where necessary.
	
		Recurrent allocations -- £000
		
			  2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 BELB 894 760 
			 WELB 884 760 
			 NEELB 863 738 
			 SEELB 800 686 
			 SELB 971 822 
			 Total 4,412 3,766 
		
	
	The apportionment of funding between individual Boards was allocated on the basis of a joint business case submitted by the Boards. The factors that determined the level of funding to each Board were the area of the estate, staffing costs and the number of schools.

Attention Deficit Disorder

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what resources have been allocated in the 2004–05 financial year to support research into attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety has not allocated any specific resources in the 2004–05 financial year for research into attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. However, grant support of £25,000 has been awarded to the Northern Ireland Attention Deficit Disorder Support Centre in each of the last three financial years.

Attention Deficit Disorder

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what resources have been allocated to fund the Northern Ireland Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Support Centre;
	(2)  if he will ensure that sufficient resources are in place to safeguard the future of the Northern Ireland Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Support Centre.

Angela Smith: The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety assisted the Northern Ireland Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Support Centre through a three year project grant of £25,000 per annum to help develop a support centre. This funding will end on 31 March 2005. An application for further funding will be considered by the Department in the near future.

Attention Deficit Disorder

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what strategy he has in place to support sufferers of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and their families.

Angela Smith: Policy and services for children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder are currently being examined under the Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability (Northern Ireland). The Review will recommend what future service development will be required.

Civil Service Property

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many items of civil service property within his Department are unaccounted for, broken down by type.

Paul Murphy: None as all items of civil service property within the Northern Ireland Office are accounted for in the Resource Accounts on an annual basis.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time (i) for an initial assessment regarding and (ii) from assessment to commencing cognitive behavioural therapy was in each health boardarea for the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the current (a) average and (b) longest waiting time (i) for an initial assessment regarding and (ii) from assessment to commencing cognitive behavioural therapy is in each health board area.

Angela Smith: Information on cognitive behavioural therapy is not collected centrally and is not available by health board area.

Community and Voluntary Sector Grants

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent in each of the last three years in Government grants to the community and voluntary sector in Northern Ireland.

John Spellar: Information on grants to the voluntary and community sector by government departments across all regions of the UK is collated by the Research, Development and Statistics Directorate of the Home Office on an annual basis. In total £147,451,863 was provided during 2001–02. This information is reproduced and analysis provided in a published report, 'Central Government Funding of Voluntary and Community Organisations 1982–83 to 2001–02', available from the Communications Development Unit of the Home Office. This includes details of grants made by Northern Ireland Departments.
	Details of grants made during 2002–03 will be published shortly and will show that a total of £167,947,995 was provided.
	Currently the exercise to capture information for the period 2003–04 is under way and final figures will be available later in the year. At the moment indications are that in excess of £183 million was provided to the voluntary and community sector.

Correspondence

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Environment and Heritage Service will answer the letter of 10 December 2004 from the hon. Member for North Down in relation to the restoration of Rosebank House in Donaghadee.

Angela Smith: The Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) replied to the hon. Member for North Down's letter of 10 December 2004 on 7 February 2005. Iunderstand that EHS acknowledged the hon. Lady's letter on 5 January.

Criminal Offences

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the criminal offences created in legislation sponsored by his Department in the (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 Session, broken down by Act.

Paul Murphy: The information is as follows.
	Criminal offences created in legislation by the Northern Ireland Office
	Parliamentary Session: 2002–03
	Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002
	Section 48—Obstructing the Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice or his Inspectors in the execution of their duties
	Section 81—Obstructing court security officers
	Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
	Article 5(1)—Absconding from bail
	Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2003
	Section 27 (8)—Restriction of disclosure of information; and
	Section 39(2)—Impersonation etc. of designated persons.
	Parliamentary Session: 2003–04
	Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2004
	Criminal Offence Created: Section 7—Influencing a prosecutor
	Criminal Offence Created: Schedule 2—Absconding by persons admitted to bail under the Terrorism Act 2000
	Anti-social Behaviour (Northern Ireland) Order 2004
	Criminal Offence Created: Article 6—Breaching an Anti-social Behaviour Order
	Criminal Offence Created: Article 8—Reporting a case where there are reporting restrictions in place
	Criminal Justice No.2 (Northern Ireland) Order 2004
	Criminal Offence Created: Article 5—Aggravated vehicle taking and; aggravated vehicle taking causing death or grievous bodily harm
	Offences created in legislation by Northern Ireland Government Departments under the provisions of the Northern Ireland Act 2000
	Parliamentary Session 2002–03
	Department for Regional Development
	Article 5 of the Harbours (Northern Ireland) Order 2002, 2002 No. 3155 (N.I.9)
	Any person who in purported compliance with a notice under paragraph Article 5(1) who knowingly or recklessly makes any statement or produces any document which is false in a material particular, and any person who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with a notice under Article 5(1).
	Department for Employment and Learning
	Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/2836, N.I.2)
	Article 12—Penalties: failures to comply: sets out penalties that apply in cases of failure to provide documentary material on request with regard to Statutory Adoption Pay and Statutory Paternity Pay. Further details are contained in Schedule 1 to the Order.
	Article 13—Penalties: fraud, etc.: establishes that where a person fraudulently or negligently makes an incorrect statement regarding entitlement to Statutory Paternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay, a penalty may be applied. Further details are contained in Schedule 1 to the Order.
	Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
	Article 3 of the Fur Farming (Prohibition) (NI) Order 2002 (2002/3151 (N.I.5)
	Keeping of, or knowingly causing or permitting another person to keep, animals for slaughter for the value of their fur or breeding progeny for such slaughter.
	Department of the Environment
	Article 20 (a) and Article 46 (b) of the Environment (NI) Order 2002 (2002/3153 (N.I.7))
	(a) Intentionally obstructing an authorised person in the exercise of his duties.
	(b) The carrying out by an owner or occupier of land of work prohibited by the Order in an area of special scientific interest.
	Department of the Environment
	Articles 3, 4, 10, 12, 13 and 23 of the Planning (Amendment) (NI) Order 2003 (2003/430 (N.I.8))
	(a) Breach of planning control
	(b) Providing false or misleading information.
	(c) Wilful obstruction.
	Note:
	Article 23 of the Order 2003 also introduced a new offence in relation to Planning Agreements, but this provision has yet to be commenced
	Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment
	Article 18 of the Company Directors Disqualifications (NI) Order 2002 (2002/3150 (N.I.4))
	Acting in contravention of a company directors disqualification order or disqualification undertaking
	Insolvency (NI) Order 1989 and Insolvency (NI) Order 2002
	The following paragraphs in Schedule Al inserted into the Insolvency (NI) Order 1989 (1989/2405 (N.I.19) by Schedule 1 to the Insolvency (NI) Order 2002 (2002/3152 (N.I.6);
	Paragraph 20(2) (a), 21(3) (b), 22(2) (c), 27(2) (d), 28(3)(a) (e), 28(3)(b) (f), 29(3)(a) (g), 29(3)(b) (h), 30(3)(a), (i), 30(3)(b) (j), 31(9) (k), 32(1) (l), 32(2) (m), 33(1)(a) (n), 33(1)(b) (o), 35(6) (p), 44(3) (q), 51(2) (r), 51(3) (s), 51(7) (t), 52(1)(u).
	(a) Directors failing to notify nominee of beginning of moratorium.
	(b) Nominee failing to advertise or notify beginning of moratorium.
	(c) Nominee failing to advertise or notify end of moratorium.
	(d) Company and officers failing to state in correspondence etc. that moratorium is in force.
	(e) Company obtaining credit without disclosing existence of moratorium.
	(f) Obtaining credit for company without disclosing existence of moratorium.
	(g) Company disposing of property otherwise than in ordinary way of business.
	(h) Authorising or permitting disposal of company property.
	(i) Company making payments in respect of liabilities existing before beginning of moratorium.
	(j) Authorising or permitting such a payment.
	(k) Directors failing to send to registrar office copy of court order permitting disposal of charged property.
	(l) Company disposing of charged property.
	(m) Authorising or permitting such a disposal.
	(n) Company entering into market contract, etc.
	(o) Authorising or permitting company to do so.
	(p) Nominee failing to give notice of withdrawal of consent to act.
	(q) Nominee failing to give notice of extension of moratorium.
	(r) Fraud or privity to fraud in anticipation of moratorium.
	(s) Fraud or privity to fraud during moratorium.
	(t) Knowingly taking in pawn or pledge, or otherwise receiving, company property.
	(u) False representation or fraud for purpose of obtaining or extending moratorium.
	Para.8 of Schedule 2 (a) and para. 12 of Schedule 3 (b) to, the Insolvency (NI) Order 2002 (2002/3152 (N.I.6))—which insert provisions into the Insolvency (NI) Order 1989.
	(a) False representation by an officer of a company for the purpose of obtaining approval of the members or creditors of a company to a proposal for a voluntary arrangement.
	(b) False representation by a debtor for the purpose of obtaining the approval of creditors.
	Limited Liability Partnerships Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 1 
	Article 2—false statement regarding incorporation documents.
	Article 9—not delivering notice of membership changes to the registrar within specified periods.
	Schedule, Part I, paragraph 4—failure to change name in accordance with Department's direction.
	Schedule, Part I, paragraph 7—improper use of limited liability partnership" etc.
	Articles 51(4)(a), 51(5)(b) and 63(9)(c) of, and paragraph 5 of Schedule 2(d), to the Energy (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 (2003/419 (N.I.6))
	(a) Failure by a licence holder to produce any documents or information required by the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation (NIAER) as a result of any contravention of a licence condition or failure to achieve a performance standard.
	(b) Intentional alteration, suppression or destruction by a licence holder of any document required by the NIAER as a result of any contravention of a licence condition or failure to achieve a performance standard.
	(c) Wrongful disclosure of information relating to the affairs of any individual or business.
	(d) Application—subject to certain modifications—of Section110 (intentional alteration, suppression or destruction of any document) and Section 117 (provision of false or misleading information) of the Enterprise Act 2002 in relation to investigations by the Competition Commission of whether activities which are not licensable operate against the public interest.
	1 Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly
	Parliamentary Session 2003–04
	Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
	Article 6 of the Agricultural Statistics (NI) Order 2004 (2004/1109 (N.I.7)
	(a) failure to provide information;
	(b) the provision of information known to be wrong;
	(c) wrongful disclosure of information obtained under the Order.
	Article 3 of the Financial Assistance for Young Farmers (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 (2004/3080 (N.I.21)
	In connection with the provision made for inspection, preservation and production of records and documents for the purpose of verifying entitlement to grants; and making false statements for the purposes of obtaining a grant.
	Department of the Environment
	Article 6 of the Road Traffic (Driving Disqualifications) (NI) Order 2003 (2003/2903 (N.I.16)) which inserts provisions in the Road Traffic (NI) Order 1981
	(a) Failure of the licence holder to deliver a GB licence and its counterparts to the Department when required to do so.
	(b) Failure of a GB driver licence holder to notify the Department of a disability as required.
	Department of the Environment
	Article 4(7) and (8); Article 5(14); Article 6 (15); Article 8 (3) of the Dangerous Wild Animals (NI) Order 2004 (2004 /1993 (N.I.16))
	(a) Keeping a dangerous wild animal without a licence.
	(b) Contravention of or failure to comply with any condition of a licence.
	(c) Obstructing any person carrying out an inspection or exercising a power of seizure authorised by the Department.
	(d) Transferring ownership of a dangerous wild animal to any person who is not the holder of a valid licence.
	Department of Social Development
	Article 8 of the Licensing (Indoor Arenas) (NI) Order 2004 93004/1994 (N.I.17))—which amends the Licensing (NI) Order 1996 (1996/3158)(N.I22)) to include a new offence
	Selling or making available for purchase intoxicating liquor in indoor arenas, except as specified.
	Articles 8 and 10 of the Betting and Gaming (NI) Order 2004 (2004/310 (N.I.1)), insofar as they extend the offences provisions in Article 108 of the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (NI) Order 1985 (1985/1204 (N.I.11)) to licensed bookmakers.
	Contravention, by licensed bookmakers, of provisions relating to the use of gaming machines".

Crosshill Quarry

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the source was of the asbestos which was recently discovered in soil and water tests at Crosshill Quarry, Crumlin, County Antrim.

Angela Smith: In the recent soil survey of the Crossbill Quarry site no asbestos fibres were detected in 38 out of 40 samples. Of the other two, only chrysotile (white asbestos) fibres were detected. These fibres are of a type used in insulation materials such as heating pipes, calorifers, hot water tanks and cavity walls.
	The analysis of water samples collected by my Department's staff recently from, and in the vicinity of, the Crossbill Quarry site were analysed for the presence of asbestos by Brunel University, Uxbridge. The analysis determined that there were amphibole asbestos fibres present. Amphibole is the generic term used to describe five different types of asbestos fibres (excluding chrysotile) and would not be uncommon in landfill sites used for the disposal of builders' rubble. The levels of asbestos fibres in the water were considerably less than the limit set by the USA Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water.
	However, while the fibre types have been identified in both the soil and water samples, it is not possible to be conclusive about the exact source of the asbestos in these samples.

Damage to Commercial Property

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce measures to allow the owners of commercial property to claim compensation from the Northern Ireland Office in the case of damage caused by three or more people or by a proscribed organisation.

Paul Murphy: None, such claims are already covered by the Criminal Damages (Compensation) (NI) Order 1977.

Dentists

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what incentives he has considered to encourage dentists in the Province to work within the NHS.

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave on 1 February 2005, Official Report, column 874W.

Diabetes

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the (a) implementation of and (b) operational plans for emotional and psychological support for diabetes sufferers within each health board area.

Angela Smith: Each of the Health and Social Services Boards have recognised the need to increase the level of emotional and psychological support for diabetes sufferers in their local implementation plans and are taking steps to address gaps in service provision. While such support may be provided by various professionals, it is recognised that clinical psychologists have a key role. However, there is currently a limited availability of trained psychologists and the Regional Diabetes Steering Group will consider how this issue can be addressed.

Diabetes

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the policies within each health board area for engaging with local diabetes services advisory groups; and what plans there are to enhance these relationships.

Angela Smith: Each of the Health and Social Services Boards has local diabetes advisory groups in place. The groups are multi-disciplinary, with representation from a range of health professionals who provide services for people with diabetes, representatives from voluntary and community groups, local service users and parents of children with diabetes.
	All of these advisory groups are closely linked to the commissioning team that is responsible for the development of services for people with diabetes in each board. Continued engagement between the boards and their advisory groups will be an essential element in the process of improving the services available for diabetes sufferers in Northern Ireland.

Diabetes

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on (a) implementation of and (b) operational plans for user participation for diabetes sufferers within each health board area.

Angela Smith: Each of the health and social services boards has local diabetes advisory groups in place. These groups are closely involved in the development of services for people with diabetes. Service users and the parents of children with diabetes are represented on all of the groups.

Eating Disorders

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when specialist eating disorders teams will be operational within each board area in the Province.

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Lady to the reply I gave on 1 February 2005, Official Report, column 875W.

Enhanced Prescribing

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) consultation and (b) equality impact assessment was conducted before the directive was issued to community pharmacies that enhanced prescribing would no longer be paid for from October 2004.

Angela Smith: The Pharmaceutical Contractors' Committee and the General Practice Committee of the BMA (NI) were consulted about the clarification, effective from 1 October 2004, of the rules in the NI Drug Tariff under which it is appropriate for pharmacists to be paid Multiple Dispensing fees.
	As this was a clarification of existing policy, and not a change in policy, a formal equality impact assessment was not considered necessary. No action has been taken to limit instalment prescribing of medications to patients—that remains a clinical decision for the GP (or other qualified prescriber) based upon the patient's condition.

Fertility Treatment

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans there are to institute a tendering process for the provision of NHS fertility treatment within the private sector in the Province.

Angela Smith: The commissioning of specific health and social care services in Northern Ireland, including publicly funded fertility services, is a matter for the Health and Social Services Boards. In their capacity as commissioners, Boards may decide to test the provision of services against private sector providers, although they are not compelled to do so. It is only when a decision is made to test the market that procurement requirements apply and the tendering process is initiated.
	In the case of fertility services boards have not decided to test the market, but to jointly commission publicly funded fertility treatments from the Regional Fertility Centre at the Royal Group of hospitals.

Fertility Treatment

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) NHS and (b) private treatment cycles have been provided at the Regional Fertility Centre in each of the last three years.

Angela Smith: The Regional Fertility Centre provided the following information for each of the last three financial years as shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 Financial year (a) Number of NHS cycles provided 
		
		
			 2002–03 312 
			 2003–04 562 
			 2004–05(18) 482 
		
	
	
		
			 Financial year (b) Number of private cycles provided 
		
		
			 2002–03 182 
			 2003–04 553 
			 2004–05(18) 454 
		
	
	(18)Data for 2004–2005 represents the period 1 April 2004 to 24 March 2005.
	Source:
	Regional Fertility Centre, Royal Group of hospitals HSS trust.

Fertility Treatment

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to publish its response to the public consultation, From People to Parents, on fertility services in the Province.

Angela Smith: I hope to be in a position to announce proposals for the way forward in the near future.

Fishing

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what compensation has been offered to date to fishermen in Northern Ireland who have been required to tie up in accordance with recent restrictions imposed on days at sea.

Ian Pearson: A second Transitional Aid Scheme was launched on 24 February 2005. A total of 16 vessels have submitted application forms for entry to the Scheme. These are currently being assessed and it is envisaged that Fisheries Division will be making payments for the first claim period during week commencing 14 March 2005.

Full-time Reserve

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assistance is being provided to former members of the full-time reserve for re-training and re-employment.

Ian Pearson: Retired officers of the RUC/PSNI Reserve have full access to the services of the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust. The trust is publicly funded and was established to assist officers (regular or reserve) in achieving a successful transition on leaving the police service. The services provided by the trust include personal and careers advice and guidance, psychological and physical therapies and services, education, training and employment support. Grant funding is also provided in support of appropriate training courses. Further details of trust services may be found on their website at www.prrt.org.

Grammar Schools

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the latest figures for enrolment at grammar schools in the Province are; and what they were in 2002–03.

Barry Gardiner: I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Lady, the Member for Strangford, on 25 January 2005, Official Report, column 304W.

Health Care Administration

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects to announce plans for the restructuring of health care administration in the Province.

Angela Smith: The final consultation paper from the Review of Public Administration, which was launched on Tuesday 22 March 2005, included a chapter setting out firm proposals for new Health and Personal Social Services management structures. Decisions on these proposals will not be taken until the RPA consultation process is complete. The consultation period will end on the 30 September 2005.

Hepatitis C

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals in the Province (a) have received and (b) are receiving Pegylated Interferon therapy to treat Hepatitis C.

Angela Smith: At 31 January 2005, there were 30 patients who have received Pegylated Interferon injections as part of a combination therapy for treating Hepatitis C. Of these, 24 are still currently receiving treatment at the Liver Clinic within the Royal Victoria Hospital.

Human Rights Commission

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what procedures will be followed in replacing the outgoing chief executive of the Human Rights Commission; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: The chief executive of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has not indicated an intention to leave the post.

Infection Control

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans there are to develop a strategy for infection control and prevention in the Province.

Angela Smith: The Department is currently developing a strategy for the prevention and control of health care associated infections (HCAI). A report is expected to issue for consultation in June 2005.

Legionnaire's

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made with identifying the source of the recent outbreak of Legionnaire's disease in the North Down area; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland is satisfied that it has identified the source of the recent outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in the North Down area as being a cooling tower in a local manufacturing unit. Appropriate remedial action has been taken.

Lough Erne (Fish Stocks)

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what different species of fish the Department of Agriculture releases into Lough Erne; and what the average annual cost of stocking waterways in Fermanagh has been over the last five years.

Angela Smith: The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure is responsible for inland fisheries matters. The Department of Agriculture does not have responsibility for this matter.
	The Department stocks indigenous Lough Erne Brown Trout purchased from the Erne and Melvin Enhancement Company Hatchery directly into Lough Erne. Indigenous Lough Erne Brown Trout fry also from the Erne and Melvin Hatchery and Salmon ova, fry, pre-smolts and juvenile elvers from the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) Hatchery at Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal are stocked into the Lough Erne tributaries to help sustain and enhance fish stocks in Lough Erne and its tributaries.
	There is no cost to the Department for the stocking from the ESB Hatchery at Ballyshannon as this is a compensatory measure for the impact of the hydroelectric dam located on the River Erne on migratory fish returning to the Erne system. The Department also stocks a number of Public Angling Estate 'nut and take' fisheries in Co. Fermanagh with Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout equating to a notional value in excess of £20,000 per annum.
	The Brown Trout and fry purchased from the Erne and Melvin Hatchery, which commenced in 2002, equates to £41,650 per annum.

Methotrexate

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what precautions are taken in Northern Ireland against potential complications for patients on methotrexate.

Angela Smith: Methotrexate therapy is monitored routinely to minimise complications. In addition, shared care protocols are in place which support the management of patients treated with methotrexate across the primary and secondary care interface.

MRSA

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost to the Health Service in Northern Ireland has been of MRSA infections in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not available.

MRSA

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many deaths in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years have been attributed to MRSA; and what guidelines are used in recording the numbers of deaths in which MRSA has been a factor.

Ian Pearson: The numbers of deaths where Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was mentioned on the death certificate in Northern Ireland, for the registration years 1999–2003, are given in the table as follows.
	
		Number of deaths in Northern Ireland with MRSA mentioned on the death certificate by registration year 1999–2003
		
			 Registration year Death certificate mentioned MRSA 
		
		
			 1999 13 
			 2000 14 
			 2001 16 
			 2002 25 
			 2003 30 
			 Total (1999–2003) 98 
		
	
	The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is used to classify cause of death and the current version of ICD does not have a specific code for MRSA. The statistics reported in the table have been obtained by identifying all deaths with ICD codes likely to be linked with MRSA, and checking the relevant death certificates for mention of MRSA.

NHS Direct

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in relation to the extension of NHS Direct to Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: In Northern Ireland each of the four Health and Social Services Boards currently operate their own daytime telephone advice line. Out-of-hours providers for which each Board is responsible deliver access to advice and services outside normal office hours. The Department is working with the four Boards to consider further development of these services on a regional basis.

NHS Recruitment

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many overseas personnel were recruited to the NHS in Northern Ireland (a) directly by the health service and (b) through recruitment agencies in each of the last three years; and what the recruitment costs were in each case.

Angela Smith: Information on the recruitment of overseas personnel to the health and personal social services is not held centrally. Health and social services trusts have supplied the following details of the number of overseas personnel recruited either directly by the trust or through recruitment agencies in each of the last three years.
	
		
			  Recruited directly by trust Recruited through agency Recruitment method not known 
		
		
			 2002 265 218 76 
			 2003 352 253 78 
			 2004 359 93 76 
			 Total 976 564 230 
		
	
	Information on the costs involved in recruitment are not available.

NHS Walk-in Centres

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce NHS walk-in centres in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Lady to my answer of 18 November 2004, Official Report, column 1775W.

Parades

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland has taken (a) to inform parade organisers that it is their responsibility to ensure the good behaviour of supporters and followers of parades and (b) to instruct his officers to have regard for the behaviour of supporters and followers, and to regard them as participants for the purposes of securing compliance with a determination of the Parades Commission.

Ian Pearson: The information is as follows.
	(a) PSNI provide a copy of the Parades Commission's code of conduct to parade organisers when they present the Parade Application Form 11/1 at a police station. The code of conduct sets out clearly that the onus is on organisers to ensure the good behaviour of supporters and followers. Police have a general order which contains guidelines on the planning process in the run up to a parade. In December 2002, an amendment was made to the general order which states that
	police evidence to the commission will include evidence of efforts by the Police Service to work with parade organisers and/or representatives of the involved neighbourhoods in the planning process."
	This has emphasised the work which police carry out in an area during the run up to a parade.
	(b) PSNI take appropriate action to police Parades Commission's determinations. Where conditions have included the behaviour of supporters and followers the police take account of these.

Pre-school Children (Child Care)

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average cost of pre-school childcare in Northern Ireland was in the last period for which figures are available; and what assistance is available to working families who require nursery support.

Angela Smith: Health and Social Services Trusts provide annual data on unit costs of services through their Trust financial returns and this includes information on day nurseries, playgroups, out of school hours clubs and holiday schemes for children. The mean average cost of day attendances at day-care services provided for under-18s was £92 per day in the 2003–04 financial year. It is not, however, possible to break down the unit cost information held by the Department into particular client groups and, for that reason, the average cost of pre-school childcare provision could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	Assistance is also available through the working families tax credit, which can provide support for families on low or middle incomes who are responsible for one or more children.

Pre-school Children (Child Care)

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether child care providers in Northern Ireland are required to be registered; and what estimate he has made of the number of child care providers.

Angela Smith: Child care providers are required to be registered as defined in the Children NI Order 1995. The following table provides the number of child care providers.
	
		
			  Providers Places 
		
		
			 Day nurseries 197 7,798 
			 Childminders 4,224 21,164 
			 Playgroups 607 14,648 
			 Out of School Clubs 212 4,773 
			 Holiday schemes 73 1,403 
			 Total 5,313 49,786

Prisons (Medical Treatment)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average waiting time for surgery was in 2004 for prisoners in Her Majesty's prisons in Northern Ireland who (a) had been sentenced and (b) were being held on remand.

Angela Smith: The information is not available in the form requested.

Public Disorder (Ardoyne)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been paid by his Department in compensation claims following public disorder at Ardoyne on 12 July in each year since 2001.

John Spellar: I have asked the chief executive of the Compensation Agency to write to the hon. Gentleman.
	Letter from Anne McCleary to Mr. Nigel Dodds, dated 21 February 2005
	Claims for compensation following public disorder at Ardoyne on 12 July 2001–2004
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about how much had been paid in compensation claims following public disorder at Ardoyne on 12 July in each year since 2001 (216412). I have been asked to reply as the issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of the Compensation Agency.
	I can advise that the available information is as follows:
	
		£
		
			  Claims under the Criminal Damage (Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 Claims under the Criminal Injuries (Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1988 
		
		
			 2001 406,271 256,256 
			 2002 0 0 
			 2003 0 0 
			 2004 0 0 
		
	
	The 1988 Order was replaced, on 1 May 2002, by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2002. The location of incidents recorded under this scheme is not wholly reliable as, for record keeping purposes, the Agency holds claims by the applicant's home address. The applicant is asked for a general description of the incident location which is later confirmed by the police in their report on the incident. On this basis it is not possible to determine, without disproportionate costs, claims which may arise out of incidents in Ardoyne on 12 July during 2002–2004.
	I hope that this is helpful.

School Buildings

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what new school buildings in the Lagan Valley constituency (a) have opened in each year since 1997 (b) are under construction and (c) have beenapproved for funding but are not yet under construction.

Barry Gardiner: In the Lagan Valley constituency (a) eight new school buildings have opened since 1997, namely:
	
		
			  Date 
		
		
			 Bridge Integrated Primary School April 1998 
			 Moira Primary School June 1998 
			 Riverdale Primary School March 2000 
			 Balmoral High School January 2002 
			 Ballycarrickmaddy Primary School February 2002 
			 Ballymacward Primary School September 2002 
			 Christ The Redeemer Primary School September 2003 
			 Meadowbridge Primary School September 2003 
		
	
	(b) One new school is currently under construction, namely:
	Hillsborough / Newport Primary School
	(c) Six schools have been approved for funding but are not yet under construction, namely:
	Ballinderry Primary School
	Ballymacrickett Primary School
	Brookfield Special School, Moira
	East Lisburn Primary Schools (amalgamation of four existing schools)
	St. Colman's Primary School, Lambeg
	Dromore Central Primary School

Special Advisers

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the contracts signed by his special advisers differ from the Model Contract for Special Advisers.

Paul Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 17 January 2005, Official Report, column 753W.

Teaching

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment his Department has made of the level of unemployment among teaching graduates in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Barry Gardiner: The most recent Claimant Count figures indicate that in February 2005 there were 482 persons claiming unemployment related benefits who stated that were seeking work as Teachers. Figures are not currently available for previous years.

Tyrone Hospital

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the reason was for the closure of the Intensive Care Unit at Tyrone County hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The decision to close temporarily the critical care unit at Tyrone County hospital during the weekend of 12 and 13 March was taken as a result of staff shortages. The unit was reopened for patients requiring high dependency care on Monday 14 March.
	Sperrin Lakeland Trust is currently undertaking a risk assessment that will include consideration of arrangements for the longer-term provision of critical care services.

Victims' Organisations

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding he has provided for victims' organisations in each year since 1998.

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer of 18 January 2005, Official Report, column 891W.

Waste Licensing

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on what date waste licensing powers will be transferred from local authorities to the Environment and Heritage Service.

Angela Smith: The Waste Management Licensing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 came into force on 19 December 2003. The introduction of the regulations transferred responsibility for waste regulation from the district councils to the Department of the Environment (specifically the Environment and Heritage Service). The Waste and Contaminated Land (1997) Commencement No.7 Order (Northern Ireland) 2003 came into operation on 27 November 2003. This Order repealed the waste licensing powers of the district councils.

Women's Centres

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the role of women's centres in Northern Ireland.

John Spellar: The range of services provided by women's organisations is extensive and impacts primarily on disadvantaged communities. These services can be broadly broken down into three areas:
	i. Core activities—community development and support to women on a range of matters.
	ii. Childcare—early years provision day care.
	iii. Education and training—often supported directly by child care provision, and aimed at building skills and confidence among women who have been out of education and/or the labour market for a significant time.
	Short-term funding of £1.1 million has been made available to a number of women's organisations that are facing financial difficulties to enable them to continue to provide key services over the next six months period. This will allow them to continue to provide valuable services on which many people in their communities depend while alternative longer-term funding from a variety of Government Departments and agencies is considered.

HEALTH

Abortion

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions were carried out in the UK in 2003–04; and how many of those were carried out between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Melanie Johnson: In 2003, there were 181,582 abortions performed in England and Wales, on residents of England and Wales, of which 1,229 (0.7 per cent.) were carried out between 22 and 24 weeks gestation.

Addictions (York)

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what health services are provided for people addicted to (a) illegal drugs, (b) alcohol and (c) tobacco in York; and how much was spent on each of these services in (i)1996–97 and (ii) 2004–05.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Agenda for Change

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how Agenda for Change affects interpreters working in the health service; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 4 April 2005
	Interpretation services in the national health service are provided in a variety of ways, for example, through the independent/voluntary sector, or through NHS Directs national contract with an interpreting service provider.
	Some NHS organisations do however employ their own interpreters, and in these cases, they will have the same access to Agenda for Change terms and conditions as other directly employed staff.

Alcohol-related Emergencies

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many alcohol-related emergency cases there were in hospitals in the Tyne and Wear Strategic Health Authority in each of the last four years.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Alcohol-related emergency admissions to hospitals in the Northumberland Tyne and Wear Strategic Health Authority and predecessor bodies/national health service trusts
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 South Tyneside Healthcare NHS Trust 535 513 479 517 
			 City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Trust 1,093 1,329 1,504 1,683 
			 Northgate and Prudhoe NHS Trust — 3 5 1 
			 Newcastle City Health NHS Trust 82 — — — 
			 Newcastle North Tyneside and Northumbria Mental Health NHS Trust — 113 96 68 
			 Gateshead Health NHS Trust 701 749 737 739 
			 The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust 1,684 1,674 1,652 1,764 
			 Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust 1,026 1,048 1,036 1,154 
			 Priority Healthcare Wearside NHS Trust 152 91 — — 
			 South of Tyne and Wearside Mental Health NHS Trust — — 158 195 
		
	
	Notes:
	1.Count of finished admission episodes (alcohol related(19)), method of admission—emergency.
	2.SNA of treatment (in 2002–03 and 2003–04)—Northumberland, Tyne and Wear.
	3.HA of treatment (in 2000–01 and 2001–02)—Gateshead and South Tyneside, Newcastle and North Tyneside, Northumberland, Sunderland. NHS hospitals in England 2003–04.
	4.The Newcastle North Tyneside and Northumbria Mental Health NHS Trust was formed on 1 April 2001 following the merger of the Newcastle City Health NHS Trust and the Northumberland Mental Health NHS Trust.
	5.The South of Tyne and Wearside Mental Health NHS Trust was formed on 1 April 2002 following the closure of Priority Healthcare Wearside NHS Trust.
	6.A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	7.The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	8.As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002–03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.
	9.(20)ICD-10 codes=alcohol related" as advised by NHS Information Authority clinical coding service. Counts include any of the records where the following listed codes are recorded in the primary or secondary field:
	Primary diagnosis:
	F10 —Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol.
	T51—Toxic effect of alcohol.
	R78.0 Finding of alcohol in blood.
	Secondary diagnosis:
	F10—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol.
	T51—Toxic effect of alcohol.
	X45—Alcohol poisoning and exposure to alcohol.
	X65—Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to alcohol.
	Y90—Evidence of alcohol involvement determined by alcohol level.
	Y91—Evidence of alcohol involvement determined by level of intoxication.
	R78.0 Finding of alcohol in blood.
	10.Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	HES, Department of Health.

Arthritis

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate for the most recent year available the (a) value of national production lost and (b) number of working days lost as a result of (i) inflammatory arthritis, (ii) psoriatic arthritis and (iii) moderate to severe osteoarthritis of hands, knees and hips.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not centrally available.

Arthritis

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of sufferers from (a) psoriatic arthritis and (b) osteoarthritis who are of working age.

Stephen Ladyman: We have no estimates for the number of sufferers of psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis who are of working age.

Bed Occupancy

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2005, Official Report, column 269W, on bed occupancy, when he last received representations from healthcare professionals on the optimal level of bed occupancy; and what views were expressed.

John Hutton: The Department is not aware of any representations being made by healthcare professionals on the optimum level of bed occupancy in recent years. Carrying out a detailed search to establish whether such representations were received could be done only at a disproportionate cost.

Breast Cancer (Wimbledon)

Roger Casale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of women in Wimbledon with suspected breast cancer saw a specialist within two weeks of referral in each of the last five years.

Stephen Ladyman: The table shows how many and what percentage of women with suspected breast cancer saw a specialist within two weeks, following urgent general practitioner referral received within 24 hours, in each of the last four years by south west London national health service trusts. Since June 2004, the data source is the cancer waiting times database. Prior to this, the data source was the Department's quarterly QMCW Korner return.
	
		Two week wait data—breast cancer—annual aggregates for three trusts—WimbledonSt. George's Healthcare NHS TrustThe Royal Marsden NHS Foundation TrustEpsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
		
			 Quarter Year Trust code Trust Total number of referrals seen Percentage compliance with the two week standard Number of patients seen during the quarter by a specialist within 14 days of the decision to refer by their GP 
		
		
			 01 2003–04 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS trust 141 100.00 141 
			 01 2003–04 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 285 100.00 285 
			 02 2003–04 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 325 99.69 324 
			 02 2003–04 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 145 100.00 145 
			 03 2003–04 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Trust 340 100.00 340 
			 03 2003–04 RVR Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 1 100.00 1 
			 03 2003–04 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 209 100.00 209 
			 04 2003–04 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 185 100.00 185 
			 04 2003–04 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 339 100.00 339 
			   Annual  1,970 99.95 1,969 
			
			 01 2004–05 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 175 100.00 175 
			 01 2004–05 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 352 100.00 352 
			 01 2004–05 RVR Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 1 100.00 1 
			 02 2004–05 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 222 100.00 222 
			 02 2004–05 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 304 100.00 304 
			 03 2004–05 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 366 100.00 366 
			 03 2004–05 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 200 100.00 200 
			   Annual  1,620 100.00 1,628 
			
			 01 2002–03 RPY Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 270 100.00 270 
			 01 2002–03 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 97 100.00 97 
			 02 2002–03 RPY Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 305 100.00 305 
			 02 2002–03 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 158 100.00 158 
			 03 200203 RPY Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 340 100.00 340 
			 03 2002–03 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 180 98.33 177 
			 04 2002–03 RPY Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 340 100.00 340 
			 04 2002–03 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 154 100.00 154 
			   Annual  1,844 99.84 1,841 
			  
			 04 2001–02  St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 104 98.08 102 
			 04 2001–02  Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 260 100.00 260 
			 03 2001–02  St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 96 96.88 93 
			 03 2001–02  Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 285 100.00 285 
			 02 2001–02  St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 136 100.00 136 
			 02 2001–02  Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 230 100.00 230 
			 01 2001–02  Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 100 100.00 100 
			 01 2001–02  Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 178 100.00 178 
			 01 2001–02  Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 51 100.00 51 
			  2001–02 Annual  1,448 (21)99.65 1,435 
		
	
	
		
			 <24 
			 Quarter Year Trust code Trust 15 to 16 17 to 21 22 to 28 28+ 
		
		
			 01 2003–04 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS trust 0 0 0 0 
			 01 2003–04 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 02 2003–04 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 0 1 0 0 
			 02 2003–04 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 03 2003–04 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 03 2003–04 RVR Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 03 2003–04 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 04 2003–04 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 04 2003–04 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 0 
			   Annual  
			 
			 01 2004–05 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 01 2004–05 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 01 2004–05 RVR Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 02 2004–05 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 02 2004–05 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 03 2004–05 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 03 2004–05 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			   Annual  
			 
			 01 2002–03 RPY Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 01 2002–03 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 02 2002–03 RPY Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 02 2002–03 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 03 200203 RPY Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 03 2002–03 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 3 0 0 0 
			 04 2002–03 RPY Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 04 2002–03 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			   Annual  
			 
			 04 2001–02  St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 1 0 0 1 
			 04 2001–02  Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 03 2001–02  St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 3 0 0 0 
			 03 2001–02  Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 02 2001–02  St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 02 2001–02  Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 01 2001–02  Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 01 2001–02  Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			 01 2001–02  Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 
			  2001–02 Annual  
		
	
	
		
			 >24 
			 Quarter Year Trust code Trust Within 14 15 to 16 17 to 21 22 to 28 28+ 
		
		
			 01 2003–04 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS trust 0 0 0 0 0 
			 01 2003–04 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 58 0 0 1 1 
			 02 2003–04 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 48 1 1 1 0 
			 02 2003–04 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 7 0 0 0 0 
			 03 2003–04 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Trust 53 0 2 0 0 
			 03 2003–04 RVR Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 0 
			 03 2003–04 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 18 0 0 1 1 
			 04 2003–04 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 10 2 2 2 1 
			 04 2003–04 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 48 0 0 1 1 
			   Annual  — — — — — 
			  
			 01 2004–05 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 11 1 1 0 1 
			 01 2004–05 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 56 0 1 0 1 
			 01 2004–05 RVR Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 0 
			 02 2004–05 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 9 0 0 0 2 
			 02 2004–05 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 53 1 2 1 0 
			 03 2004–05 RPY The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 57 0 2 0 1 
			 03 2004–05 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 16 0 3 0 1 
			   Annual  — — — — — 
			  
			 01 2002–03 RPY Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 01 2002–03 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 02 2002–03 RPY Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 02 2002–03 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 03 200203 RPY Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 03 2002–03 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 04 2002–03 RPY Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 04 2002–03 RJ7 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust — — — — — 
			   Annual  — — — — — 
			  
			 04 2001–02  St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 04 2001–02  Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 03 2001–02  St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 03 2001–02  Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 02 2001–02  St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 02 2001–02  Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 01 2001–02  Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 01 2001–02  Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust — — — — — 
			 01 2001–02  Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust — — — — — 
			  2001–02 Annual  — — — — — 
		
	
	(21)Was 99.78
	Sources:
	CWT-OB and Department of Health QMCW

Cancer Services

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on cancer services in (a) Leicester South and (b) England in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The information requested is not held centrally. The complex nature of the delivery of cancer services means that we are unable to accurately monitor expenditure. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds locally to meet national priorities for cancer services.

Care Homes (Medication)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Commission for Social Care Inspection will publish its report on the use of medication in care homes following up on the report of the National Care Standards Commission.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection has advised that a report on the use of medication in care homes is due for publication in December 2005.

Children's National Service Framework

Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he plans to support primary care trusts in conducting regular audits and reviews of local children's health services.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department has set out a framework for the national health service for continuous improvement in the overall quality of care people receive, including children, in Standards for Better Health". Underpinning this is clinical governance, including clinical audit, which provides healthcare organisations, including primary care trusts, with a systematic means of ensuring compliance with their statutory duties. The Healthcare Commission has recently completed an extensive public consultation on a new system for assessing and performance rating NHS trusts in 2005–06 against these standards.
	The national service framework for children, young people and maternity services requires each health economy to develop a managed local children's clinical network to review and meet the needs of the local population.
	As set out in National Standards, Local Action", strategic health authorities (SHAs) are responsible for developing healthcare improvement plans in their local areas and making sure that local health services, including children's services, commissioned by primary care trusts are of a high standard and are performing well.
	The Better Metrics" project offers primary care trusts a range of clinical measurements of performance for local target setting, which is available on the website of the office of the SHAs at www.osha.nhs.uk

Clean Hospitals Summit

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Department will be represented at the forthcoming Clean Hospitals Summit of the Patients Association.

Melanie Johnson: The Department will be represented at the conference by, among others, chief executive Sir Nigel Crisp and chief nursing officer, Christine Beasley. The Department is an active partner in the summit.

Commission for Social Care Inspection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) budget and (b) expenditure of the Commission for Social Care Inspection was in each of the last two years.

Stephen Ladyman: The Commission for Social Care Inspections became operational on 1 April 2004. The Commission for Social Care Inspection's budget for 2004–05 was £147.2 million. Subject to audited accounts, it is currently estimated that the budget will be spent in full.

Commission for Social Care Inspection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes in inspection fees the Commission for Social Care Inspection has made since it was established.

Stephen Ladyman: The Commission for Social Care Inspection charges registration fees and annual fees, which are set by central Government. Since the commission became operational on 1 April 2004, its fees have not changed. An increase across the board of 20 per cent. will come into effect on 1 April 2005.

Commission for Social Care Inspection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the responsibilities of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) which are not due to be merged into the Healthcare Commission in the proposals announced with the Budget; what estimate he has made of the likely change in (a) costs and (b) jobs arising from the merger; what the duties of staff employed by the CSCI are; and which duties are likely to be merged into the Healthcare Commission.

Stephen Ladyman: Subject to further review, we expect the duties of both commissions to remain in place after the merger takes effect. Those duties are as set out in theHealth and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003. The merger will allow a reduction in costs through more efficient administrative arrangements. The detailed staffing and financial implications will be considered as part of the process of planning and implementation.

Congenital Defects

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission research into possible clusters of congenital defects around the former British Steel ironworks at Corby.

Melanie Johnson: This is a matter for the Director of Public Health at the Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Strategic Health Authority.

Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter regarding Mrs.Faye Daniel sent to his Department on 30 April 2004 by the hon. Member for Brent, East, reference: DC/Daniel/30/04/04.

Stephen Ladyman: Officials have no record of a letter referring to Mrs. Faye Daniels, or correspondence under the reference DC/Daniel/30/04/04, arriving in the Department.

Crohn's Disease

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action the Government have taken to combat Crohn's disease in terms of (a) treatment, (b) support for sufferers and (c) research into (i) the causes of and (ii) a possible cure for the condition.

Stephen Ladyman: The national service framework (NSF) for long-term conditions was published on 10 March. While the NSF principally focuses on services for people with neurological conditions, brain and spinal injury, it will help ensure that all people with a long-term condition are supported to live as full and independent life as possible.
	Responsibility for the treatment and support for patients with Crohn's disease in England rests with primary care trusts (PCTs), which are responsible for deciding which health services the local population requires, and ensuring that these services are provided.
	In May 2002, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued guidance on the clinical and cost effectiveness of the drug Infliximab in the treatment of severe Crohn's disease. The national health service is statutory obliged to provide funding for treatments and drugs recommended by NICE within three months of publication of its guidance.
	The Department's national research programme expenditure on projects related to Crohn's disease in the period from 1994 to 2004 was £234,000.
	The cause of Crohn's disease has not yet been identified. There is no known cure for Crohn's disease at present, but treatment can control the disease in most cases.

Dementia

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has held with representatives of elderly patients suffering from dementia regarding the provision of services; and if he will make a statement on the availability of resources to assist the long-term care of those suffering from dementia.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department and its Ministers meet regularly with organisations representing the interests of those with dementia. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State met with the Alzheimer's Society on 22 March 2005 to discuss with them the draft guidance on the use of Alzheimer's drugs, issued on 1 March 2005 for consultation by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE).
	For the period 2003–04 to 2007–08, expenditure on the national health service in England will increase on average by 7.2 per cent. a year over and above inflation. We are also making available an additional £1 billion over the three years 2003–04 to 2005–06 for social services that will benefit carers and the training of support staff. As the majority users of these services, older people, including those with dementia, will particularly benefit.

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial assistance has been offered to those primary care trusts who have received Polish dentists to help cover the costs of relocation packages, the eight-week training programme and any necessary additional training.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 March 2005
	Primary care trusts are required to provide financial support, as part of the Department's central recruitment initiative to dentists from Poland, to cover the cost of relocation to England. The eight-week training programme for Polish dentists is covered in the cost of the contract with Methods, and is therefore met by the Department. £20,000 was made available by the Department to each post graduate dental deanery to provide an induction programme for Polish and other dentists following their arrival in England.

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2005, Official Report, column 1976W, on dentistry, what specific expertise Methods Consulting has in recruiting dentists from overseas countries, with particular reference to Poland.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 April 2005
	Methods Consulting are working with Paragona AB, who manage the recruitment activity in Poland. Paragona AB have extensive experience of recruitment of healthcare professionals from Poland.

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with which countries his Department has discussed recruiting dentists from; and what the value is of each contract let to Method Consulting for the recruitment of overseas dentists.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 April 2005
	Talks have progressed on recruiting dentists from Greece, Portugal, Germany, Spain, India and Poland. The value of the contract let to Methods Consulting for the recruitment of overseas dentists was £4.1 million.

Dentistry

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Polish dentists (a) have registered and (b) are waiting to register with the General Dental Council to practise as a result of primary care trusts' recruitment initiatives; and how many have commenced practising in England.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 April 2005
	Since accession to the European Union in May, a total of 224 dentists from Poland had registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) to the end of February 2005. Information is not held about the number of these who may have responded to primary care trusts' local recruitment.
	As a result of the Department's central recruitment initiative in Poland, 69 Polish dentists have registered with the GDC and none are currently waiting to register. 28 dentists have started practising in January. The remaining 41 dentists are commencing practise between 14 March and 4 April.

Dentistry

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in Leeds, North-West.

Rosie Winterton: Leeds North West Primary Care Trust (PCT) has received £96,000 capital funding, which is being utilised through the PCTs dental incentive scheme, to ensure that the commitment of local dentists to the national health service is maintained. This funding will also support general dental practitioners in ensuring patient safety and improving practice premises.
	A further £42,000 revenue funding has been received by the Leeds North West PCT, which will provide three extra NHS dental sessions a week. In addition, the PCT is currently implementing an access scheme to provide urgent and routine treatment sessions for non-registered NHS patients in the area.
	By April 2005, Leeds North West PCT will have six general dental practices working under personal dental services (PDS) arrangements. These practices have successfully secured an additional £221,000 to increase the work force, benefiting an additional 1,355 new patients and enabling the re-registration of approximately 2,500 NHS patients.
	Leeds North West PCT is currently being supported through the West Yorkshire work force confederation to participate in the tranche four of the international dental recruitment campaign co-ordinated by the Department.

Dentistry

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists have been recruited via his Department's International Recruitment Scheme since the beginning of 2004; how many are working in the south-west; how long each has been at work and where; and whether each (a) recruit from an EU member stateand (b) partner of such a recruit is eligible for statebenefits, with particular reference to maternity benefits.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 24 March 2005
	69 dentists have been recruited from Poland via the Department's international recruitment scheme. 17 of these have been working in Devon or Cornwall since January 2005. They are located in Camborne, Liskeard, Paignton, Exeter (all two each) and Falmouth, Cullompton, Exmouth, Seaton, St. Budeaux, South Brent, Constantine, Plymouth, Torquay (all one each).
	Dentists are eligible for maternity, paternity and adoptive leave payments as part of the general dentists service (GDS) system of remuneration. This includes dentists from European Union member states if they satisfy the conditions of maternity pay in the GDS.
	There are two maternity benefits in the United Kingdom: statutory maternity pay (SMP) from a woman's employer or maternity allowance from the state. A woman from a country that is a member of the EU may receive statutory maternity pay from her employer if she satisfies the qualifying conditions. Further details are available at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2003/gl28_dec.pdf
	and at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2004/bc1_oct04.pdf
	If she is not eligible for SMP, she may be eligible for maternity allowance if she has worked in the United Kingdom for at least a week earning 30 a week, and is able to use her work or insurance record in another EU state to help her qualify.

Departmental Policies

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Ribble Valley and Fulwood constituency, the effects on the constituency of changes to his Department's policies since 1997.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 15 March 2005
	The Government have put in place a programme of national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the Ribble Valley and Fulwood constituency.
	For example:
	At the end of December 2004, the total number of people waiting more than nine months for inpatient treatment within Hyndburn and Ribble Valley primary care trust (PCT) and Preston PCT has fallen to zero, from 412 in June 2002.
	At the end of December 2004, the total number of patients waiting over 13 weeks for outpatient treatment within Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT and Preston PCT has fallen to 368, from 1,175 in June 2002.
	In June 2003, at Lancashire teaching hospitals NHS trust, 92.5 per cent., of patients spent less than four hours in Accident and Emergency (A&E) from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. Figures for September 2004 show an improvement to 97.6 per cent.
	Between September 2002 and June 2004, the number of consultants at Lancashire teaching hospitals NHS trust has increased from 167 to 170. Between September 2002 and September 2003, the number of nurses has increased from 1,915 to 1,928.
	Between September 2001 and June 2004, the number of general practitioners (GPs) within Hyndbum and Ribble Valley PCT and Preston PCT has increased from 152 to 165.
	Figures for December 2004 show that all patients within Hyndbum and Ribble Valley PCT and Preston PCT are able to be offered an appointment with a GP within two working days and a primary care professional within one working day.
	100 per cent, of urgent GP referrals to Lancashire teaching hospitals NHS trust, with suspected cancer, are seen by a specialist within two weeks of the referral.
	In the Ribble Valley local authority area, the death rate from cancer per 100,000 population was 163 in 2003 compared to 197 in 1997. For Preston, the rate in 2003 was 181, compared to 190 in 1997.
	In the Ribble Valley local authority area, the death rate from coronary heart disease per 100,000 population was 131 in 2003 compared to 164 in 1997. For Preston, the rate in 2003 was 142, compared to 176 in 1997.
	A new multi-million pound flagship education centre has been opened at the Royal Preston hospital.
	A new £700,000 dermatology and diabetes centre opened in April 2003 at Chorley and South Ribble hospital.
	The latest phase of modernisation of Burnley General hospital will include 170 in-patient medical beds, an acute rehabilitation suite and a 15 station renal satellite dialysis unit.
	The £110 million private finance initiative development project at Queens Park hospital in Blackburn is scheduled for completion in summer 2006. It involves the rationalisation of services from two sites on to one. The benefits of this include the provision of an integrated children's unit, as well as A&E and medical beds on the same site, thus eliminating patient transfers between the two sites.

Departmental Policies

Roger Casale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Wimbledon constituency, the effects of changes to departmental policy since 1997 on Wimbledon constituency.

Stephen Ladyman: The Government have put in place a programme of national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the Wimbledon constituency. For example:
	Currently, within Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust (PCT), no one is waiting more than nine months for inpatient treatment. This is down from 603 in June 2002.
	At the end of December 2004, the number of patients waiting over 13 weeks for outpatient treatment within Sutton and Merton PCT was 265; from 586 in June 2002. No one was waiting over 17 weeks for first outpatient appointment.
	100 per cent. of people are getting access to their general practitioner within two working days in the Sutton and Merton PCT area. This is an improvement on 82.4 per cent. in June 2002 for people wanting an appointment with their GP.
	In June 2003, at Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, 85.4 per cent. of patients spent less than four hours in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer, or discharge. Figures for December 2004 show an improvement to 95.3 per cent.
	In the South West London Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area, death rates from cancer per 100,000 population have fallen to 172.7 in 2003; from 197.9 in 1997.
	In the South West London SHA area, death rates from coronary heart disease per 100,000 population have fallen to 101.9 in 2003; from 130.6 in 1997.
	In the borough of Merton, death rates from cancer per 100,000 population have fallen to 170.8 in 2003; from 197.5 in 1997.
	In the borough of Merton, death rates from coronary heart disease per 100,000 population have fallen to 99.7 in 2003; from 129.7 in 1997.
	Between September 1999 and September 2004, the number of consultants at Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust has increased from 157 to 200.
	Latest figures, as at September 2004, show that there are 64 more GPs in the Sutton and Merton PCT area now than there were in September 2001.
	Latest figures, for September 2004, show that there are currently 165 dentists in the Sutton and Merton PCT area.
	Over the period 2003 to 2006, Sutton and Merton PCT received an overall increase in allocation of £87.5 million and for 2006 to 2008, an overall increase of £72.1 million.
	Better healthcare closer to home is the strategy from the health and social care organisations in Merton, Sutton and Mid Surrey to modernise and improve upon local health service.
	Since 2002, the trust has appointed 13 modern matrons, resulting in huge improvements in all aspects of care across the trust.
	A replacement computed tomography scanner was delivered to Epsom General Hospital in January 2002.

Diabetes

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the reported incidence of diabetes in Camden and Islington in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 4 April 2005
	I regret that this information is not available in the form requested.

Direct Payments

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what publicity he has funded to encourage the uptake of direct payments; and what funding was made available in each case.

Stephen Ladyman: We have produced a range of user-friendly information including, A guide to receiving direct payments from your local council", which will also be available in Braille and audio formats. In association with the Council for Disabled Children, we have also produced A Parents' Guide to Direct Payments" for parents with disabled children.
	We have produced an easy guide to direct payments to encourage people with learning disabilities to consider the option of direct payments.
	We have also produced a video targeted at people from black and ethnic minority communities who want to access direct payments. a video targeting older people is also being produced by Age Concern.
	Local councils should supplement this with local appropriate information.
	We also provide funding to the National Centre for Independent Living, which provides information and advice about direct payments and independent living to individuals, local councils and voluntary organisations.

Direct Payments

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total value of direct payments made by local authorities to individuals has been in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority.

Stephen Ladyman: Data on expenditure by local authorities on direct payments for 1997–98 is not available centrally. Data showing gross expenditure on direct payments, as reported by local authorities in England for the period 1998–99 to 2003–04, has been placed in the Library.

Drugs

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residential drug rehabilitation placesare available in Portsmouth and South East Hampshire.

Melanie Johnson: The information is not held centrally.

Drugs

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have used NHS services to treat (a) addiction to and (b) the adverse effects of (i) heroin, (ii) crack cocaine, (iii) cocaine, (iv) ecstasy, (v) cannabis, (vi) alcohol, (vii) solvents and (viii) prescription drugs in each of the last five years.

Melanie Johnson: Data on numbers in treatment by drug misuse is not available. The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse will publish information in the spring on numbers in treatment by drug misuse in England for 2003–04, from the national drug treatment monitoring system. Data on drug treatment may include non-national health service providers.
	Data on numbers in treatment for alcohol misuse is not available.

Food Labelling

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prosecutions have been initiated in each of the last five years for labelling of food content which was deliberately misleading; and what percentage of those prosecutions related to the salt content.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 24 March 2005
	Information is not held centrally on the number of prosecutions for labelling of food offences which were deliberately misleading, or which related to salt content.
	In line with the requirements of the European Union's Official Control Directive (OCD) 89/397, the data on prosecutions collected from local authorities by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is reported under seven generic headings, one of which is labelling and presentation". In accordance with the relevant European Union guidance, each type of enforcement action is only recorded once per premises per year.
	The FSA currently holds information for the five years covering the period 1999 to 2003. The numbers of premises subject to prosecutions initiated in the United Kingdom under the heading of labelling and presentation" during the years 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of establishments subject to prosecution Percentage of all prosecutions initiated 
		
		
			 1999 284 26 
			 2000 224 30 
			 2001 150 23 
			 2002 161 20 
			 2003 193 22

General Practitioner Surgeries (York)

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner surgeries in York havebeen (a) newly built and (b) modernised since 1997.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Health Promotion

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2004, Official Report, column 504W, on Health Promotion, where the first wave of pilots to promote health and wellbeing through the workplace will be situated; when the pilots will commence; and what funding he is providing to the pilots.

Melanie Johnson: Workplace Health", which is aimed at improving health and well-being in the workplace, is a two-year, £1.4 million programme managed by the British Heart Foundation and funded by Sport England, the Big Lottery Fund and the Department with a workplace pilot based in each of the nine regions in England.
	Each pilot is being delivered by a regional partnership with representation from primary care trusts, local government, business forums and industry. The first and second waves of pilots will commence in summer 2005.

Health White Paper

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 December 2004, Official Report, column 355W, on Health White Paper, what the timeframe is for developing the National Health Competency Framework; whether all Staff will be covered by the Framework; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The Skills for Health" (SfH) strategic plan 2004–09 sets out plans to achieve in excess of 95 per cent. coverage of the United Kingdom health sector work force in terms of competence frameworks, including national occupational standards.
	The Department has a service level agreement in place with SfH to support the continuing development and maintenance of competences in the health sector.

HIV

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new cases of HIV were diagnosed in the UK in each year since 2001; what percentage of new cases were African migrants coming to the UK from (a) former British colonies and (b) elsewhere; and what estimate he has made of the number of African people living in the UK who have undiagnosed HIV.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 24 March 2005
	Information about new HIV diagnoses and HIV prevalence estimates is contained in the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) report Focus on prevention: HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in the United Kingdom in 2003—an update: November 2004 and AIDS/HIV quarterly surveillance table: cumulative UK data to end December 2004". These documents are available on the HPA's website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/publications/annual2004/annual2004.htm
	and at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_andsti/hiv/epidemiology/files/quarterly.pdf

Hospital-acquired Infection

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to communicate the results of the Regional Review Panel in relation to hospital-acquired infection;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to communicate level 1 and 2 recommendations of the Rapid Review Panel to NHS trusts.

Melanie Johnson: Recommendations from the rapid review panel have been widely publicised. The most recent reports were announced in the Medical Director's Bulletin. Future reports will also be announced via the Chief Executive's Bulletin.

Interpreters

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many interpreters are employed in the NHS; what their roles are; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The information requested is not collected centrally.
	Interpreters will have a variety of roles within the national health service. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to plan, develop and improve services for local people.

IVF

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many IVF embryos were destroyed between 1991 and 2004;
	(2)  how many IVF embryos are held in freezing facilities.

Melanie Johnson: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised me that between 1991 and 2004, 814,537 embryos were allowed to perish.
	The HFEA has also advised me that information provided to it by licensed centres indicates that the total number of embryos held in storage as at 31 March 2004 was 117,619. This is the most recent date for which information is available.
	These figures are derived from data on the HFEA register, which is currently being audited to improve the accuracy of the information available. The data may, therefore, be subject to future amendment following the completion of the modernisation programme in March 2006.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether (a) the NHS and (b) healthcare professionals are statutorily obliged to follow guidance issued by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 4 April 2005
	Decisions on whether to prescribe medicines, including decisions to prescribe outside the licensed indications, are for individual clinicians, subject to any local national health service arrangements or protocols. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) guidance on the use of medicines should also be taken into account
	Where a NHS body or a healthcare professional is manufacturing, supplying, prescribing or administering a medicine or a medical device, it must comply with the relevant legislation governing that activity, such as the Medicines Act 1968 and the Medical Devices Regulations 2002. The MHRA issues guidance as to the application and interpretation of such legislation, which should by considered by any person or body subject to its provisions.

Mental Health

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts spent less than the national average on mental health in 2003–04.

Rosie Winterton: Estimates of primary care trust (PCT) expenditure on mental health are provided by the programme budgeting returns. The list shows PCTs with below average spend, where the average is defined in terms of spend per 100,000 unified weighted population, which takes account of population age and need.
	PCTs with spend less than average calculated on the basis of spend per 100,000 unified weighted population
	Adur, Arun and Worthing
	Amber Valley
	Ashfield
	Ashton, Leigh and Wigan
	Barnet
	Barnsley
	Bassetlaw
	Bedford
	Bexhill and Bother
	Birkenhead and Wallasey
	Blackburn with Darwen
	Blackpool
	Blackwater Valley and Hart
	Bolton
	Bournemouth
	Bracknell Forest
	Bradford City
	Bradford South and West
	Brighton and Hove City
	Broxtowe and Hucknall
	Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale
	Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth
	Bury
	Canterbury and Coastal
	Central Cheshire
	Central Cornwall
	Central Suffolk
	Charnwood and North West Leicestershire
	Chelmsford
	Cheltenham and Tewkesbury
	Cherwell Vale
	Cheshire West
	Chesterfield
	Chiltern and South Bucks
	Chorley and South Ribble
	Colchester
	Cotswold and Vale
	Craven, Harrogate and Rural District
	Crawley
	Dacorum
	Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley
	Derbyshire Dales and South Derbyshire
	Derwentside
	Doncaster Central
	Doncaster East
	Doncaster West
	Dudley Beacon and Castle
	Dudley South
	Durham and Chester-Le-Street
	Easington
	East Cambridgeshire and Fenland
	East Devon
	East Hampshire
	East Kent Coastal
	East Lincolnshire
	East Staffordshire
	East Surrey
	Eastern Birmingham
	Eastern Cheshire
	Eastern Leicester
	Eastern Wakefield
	Eastleigh and Test Valley
	Epping Forest
	Erewash
	Exeter
	Fareham and Gosport
	Fylde
	Gateshead
	Great Yarmouth
	Guildford and Waverley
	Hambleton and Richmondshire
	Harlow
	Herefordshire
	Heywood and Middleton
	High Peak and Dales
	Hillingdon
	Hinckley and Bosworth
	Hounslow
	Huntingdonshire
	Hyndburn and Ribble Valley
	Kennet and North Wilts
	Knowsley
	Langbaurgh
	Lincolnshire South West Teaching
	Luton
	Maldon and South Chelmsford
	Mansfield District
	Medway
	Mendip
	Mid-Sussex
	Milton Keynes
	Newark and Sherwood
	Newbury and Community
	Newcastle-Under-Lyme
	North Birmingham
	North Bradford
	North Devon
	North Dorset
	North East Lincolnshire
	North East Oxfordshire
	North Eastern Derbyshire
	North Hampshire
	North Hertfordshire and Stevenage
	North Kirklees
	North Lincolnshire
	North Liverpool
	North Peterborough
	North Sheffield
	North Somerset
	North Stoke
	North Surrey
	North Tees
	North Tyneside
	North Warwickshire
	Northamptonshire Heartlands
	Nottingham City
	Oldbury and Smethwick
	Oldham
	Poole
	Redditch and Bromsgrove
	Rochdale
	Rotherham
	Rowley, Regis and Tipton
	Royston, Buntingford and Bishop's Stortford
	Rushcliffe
	Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale
	Sedgefield
	Selby and York
	Shepway
	Shropshire County
	Slough
	Solihull
	Somerset Coast
	South and East Dorset
	South Cambridgeshire
	South East Hertfordshire
	South East Oxfordshire
	South Hams and West Devon
	South Leicestershire
	South Peterborough
	South Sefton
	South Somerset
	South Stoke
	South Tyneside
	South Warwickshire
	South West Dorset
	South West Kent
	South Western Staffordshire
	South Worcestershire
	Southern Norfolk
	St. Albans and Harpenden
	St. Helens
	Stockport
	Suffolk Coastal
	Suffolk West
	Sunderland Teaching
	Surrey Heath and Woking PCT
	Sussex Downs and Weald
	Tameside and Glossop
	Taunton Deane
	Teignbridge
	Tendring
	Torbay
	Tower Hamlets
	Trafford North
	Trafford South
	Vale of Aylesbury
	Wakefield West
	Walsall
	Warrington
	Watford and Three Rivers
	Waveney
	Wednesbury and West Bromwich
	Welwyn Hatfield
	West Lancashire
	West Lincolnshire
	West Norfolk
	West of Cornwall
	West Wiltshire
	Western Sussex
	Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead
	Witham, Braintree and Halstead Care Trust
	Wokingham
	Wolverhampton City
	Wyre
	Wyre Forest
	Yorkshire Wolds and Coast

Mental Health

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which specialist mental health helplines outside NHS Direct receive funding from his Department; and what the (a) remit, (b) types of mental health conditions handled, (c) geographical coverage, (d) opening hours and (e) the average length of calls were of each in the last period for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: In December 1997, the Department launched the CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) telephone helpline in Manchester in response to the high rate of suicide and depression among young men aged 15 to 35 years old. The Department provides core funding for CALM, with local funding provided by local health and social care agencies.
	The CALM initiative is aimed at raising awareness of depression amongst 15 to 35-year-old men and encouraging them to seek help. As part of this work, CALM provides a specialist national freephone mental health helpline for young men with feelings of depression that offers confidential information, advice, referrals and telephone counselling from specially trained professional advisers. While the campaign is targeted at young men, all callers will receive the same basic service, regardless of gender, age, culture or sexual orientation.
	CALM's services are focused on Manchester, Merseyside and Bedfordshire and callers to the helpline from these areas will receive, in addition to the help and support already mentioned for all callers, information about local services.
	CALM's helpline is available from 5 pm to 3 am seven days a week, 365 days a year. When the service is closed, callers receive a message that provides details of opening hours and the telephone number for the Samaritans, should the caller wish to speak with someone urgently.
	The CALM helpline receives an average of 8,000 'interactive' calls every year, often long and in-depth. The average call time is 18 minutes. The helpline also receives many thousands of silent calls where the caller was not willing to talk.

Ministerial Duties

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what official duties were carried out by the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Doncaster Central (Ms Winterton) on Thursday 17 March; how many officials accompanied her; for what purposes; and what the total cost of travel was.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 23 March 2005
	On Thursday 17 March, I attended Mind's annual conference in Harrogate, opened York hospitals national health service trust's renal satellite unit at Harrogate general hospital, visited Kippax North junior and infant school in Kippax to see the impact of the Government's healthy schools programme and visited Undercliffe surgery in Batley. All the duties were carried out in an official capacity.
	As is usual on official visits, I was accompanied to all the engagements by an official from my ministerial private office and by one of the Department's press officers. A senior official from the Department's mental health team attended Mind's conference.
	The total cost of travel, including for those officials accompanying me, was £898.40.

Mrs. A. Murphy

Edward O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about Mrs. A. Murphy of Huyton, a constituent of the hon. Member for Knowsley South.

Melanie Johnson: The Department has not received any representations about Mrs. A. Murphy of Huyton.

MRSA

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA have been identified in hospitals within Greater London, broken down by national health service trust, in each year since March 2003.

Melanie Johnson: Information on reported methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections for each national health service trust in London is shown in the tables. Full year figures for April 2004 to March 2005 are not yet available. However, there was a 20 per cent., reduction across London in the first six months of 2004–05—April to September 2004—compared with the same period in 2003.
	
		Reports of MRSA blood stream infections
		
			 Trust name April 2003 to September 2003 October 2003 to March 2004 April 2003 to March 2004 
		
		
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 59 57 116 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 48 46 94 
			 Baits and the London NHS Trust 33 29 62 
			 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 9 9 18 
			 Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust 15 23 38 
			 Baling Hospital NHS Trust 19 17 36 
			 Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust 44 44 88 
			 Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust 0 4 4 
			 Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust 82 84 166 
			 Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 61 64 125 
			 Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 9 15 24 
			 Homerton Hospital NHS Trust 4 10 14 
			 King's College Hospital NHS Trust 62 45 107 
			 Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 16 10 26 
			 Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 17 32 49 
			 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 26 30 56 
			 Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 
			 Newham Healthcare NHS Trust 11 13 24 
			 North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust 25 28 53 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 33 22 55 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 8 21 29 
			 Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 13 15 28 
			 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust 2 3 5 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 46 52 98 
			 Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 3 1 4 
			 Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 0 1 1 
			 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 48 45 93 
			 St. Mary's NHS Trust 30 29 59 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Trust 50 35 85 
			 West Middlesex University NHS Trust 17 17 34 
			 Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 20 17 37 
			 Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 9 20 29 
			 Grand total 819 838 1,657 
		
	
	
		
			 Trust name April 2004 to September 2004 Total 
		
		
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 47 163 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 60 154 
			 Baits and the London NHS Trust 29 91 
			 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 8 26 
			 Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust 26 64 
			 Baling Hospital NHS Trust 13 49 
			 Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust 28 116 
			 Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust 1 5 
			 Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Trust 57 223 
			 Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 42 167 
			 Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 16 40 
			 Homerton Hospital NHS Trust 3 17 
			 King's College Hospital NHS Trust 34 141 
			 Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 21 47 
			 Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 21 70 
			 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 16 72 
			 Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 
			 Newham Healthcare NHS Trust 6 30 
			 North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust 14 67 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 28 83 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 15 44 
			 Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 12 40 
			 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust 4 9 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 37 135 
			 Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust 0 4 
			 Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust 2 3 
			 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 28 121 
			 St. Mary's NHS Trust 26 85 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Trust 13 98 
			 West Middlesex University NHS Trust 12 46 
			 Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 26 63 
			 Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 9 38 
			 Grand total 654 2311

MRSA

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Health Protection Agency's survey of data collection methods for the mandatory MRSA surveillance scheme is complete; and what assessment has been made of the consistency in data collection methods across NHS trusts.

Melanie Johnson: The user study by the HealthProtection Agency of the methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia mandatory surveillance scheme is expected to be received by the Department shortly.

MRSA

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many cases of MRSA have been reported involving kidney patients receiving treatment through intravenous tubes in each of the last three years;
	(2)  what measures have been taken to prevent MRSA infections being contracted during dialysis treatment.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 23 March 2005
	Figures on the incidence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in kidney patients dialysed using central venous catheters are not available.
	All national health service trusts need to take steps to control MRSA and other healthcare associated infections and general guidance on infection control is set out in Winning Ways: Working together to reduce healthcare associated infection in England".
	Specific advice on infection control in dialysis units has been issued by the Renal Association in Treatment of adults and children with renal failure—standards and audit measures".

MRSA

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has collated on the incidence of community-acquired MRSA; and what action he is taking to prevent its spread.

Melanie Johnson: Community-acquired methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) usually refers to cases of MRSA isolated from previously healthy people without any obvious risk factors such as admission to hospital. The Health Protection Agency's (HPA) staphylococcal reference laboratory has confirmed 100 cases over the last three years—an extremely small proportion of the isolates they receive (less than 0.005 per cent.). The Specialist Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance (SACAR) and the HPA are monitoring reports of CA-MRSA and recommend continued vigilance, but that there is no immediate cause for concern. They will be carrying out a small survey to establish the prevalence of these infections.
	CA-MRSA is controlled by good hygiene and infection control and guidance for the national health service is available in Infection Control: Prevention of healthcare associated infection in primary and community care" published by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in 2003.

MRSA

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the reasons for changing the name of the antibiotic 'methicillin' to 'meticillin'; and whether the collation of statistics on deaths from MRSA includes cases where MRSA is described as 'meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus'.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The name of the antibiotic known as methicillin has been changed to meticillin. This is in accordance with the International Pharmacopoeia guidelines. The change in nomenclature does not affect statistics on deaths from meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as data collected by the Office for National Statistics includes references to both meticillin and methicillin.

Neo-natal Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to include the performance of neo-natal care in key indicators of hospital standards.

Stephen Ladyman: The independent Healthcare Commission is responsible for developing and producing the national health service performance ratings. The Commission is currently developing a new assessment methodology, which will include assessments against the national standards for the NHS published in Standards for Better Health". Its proposals will be published in the spring.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2005, Official Report, column 278W, on NHS finances, if he will give examples of the exceptional circumstances which have previously permitted unplanned support to be given to NHS and primary care trusts.

John Hutton: The Department introduced restrictions in the use of unplanned financial support in the national health service from 2003–04. The policy is that unplanned financial support should only be used where the extent of financial problems is unmanageable and a failure to act would lead to an undue detrimental impact on the quality of patient care.

NHS Trusts

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) total and (b) individual current recurrent deficit for (i) NHS hospital trusts and (ii) NHS primary care trusts is.

John Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) on Tuesday 21 December 2004, Official Report, column 1688W.

Nurses (North-east)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) trainee nurses are employed by each NHS Trust in the North East region and (b) student nurses on NHS contracts and receiving bursaries from the NHS are studying at each higher education institution in the North East region; what the value of NHS bursaries was in (i) 2004–05 and (ii) 1997; and whether such bursaries (A) are taxable and (B) were taxable in 1997.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 15 March 2005
	Student nurses are not technically employed bynational health service trusts whilst undertaking pre-registration nurse training courses, even though they continue to be paid a salary, as they have supernumerary status during their training period. There were 307 health care assistants seconded to nurse training by Northumberland, Tyne and Wear strategic health authority on behalf of their local trusts in 2003–04. (Source: Q4 2003–04MPET NMET Quarterly Monitoring).
	Information is not held centrally on which higher education institution each student attends.
	Total student bursary awards in Northern England Education and Training Consortium were £183,452 in the 1997–98 academic year and £2,463,424 in the 2004–05 academic year. The figures are not directly comparable because the NHS Student Grants Unit (SGU) did not take on the responsibility for the assessment and payment of NHS Bursaries to nursing degree students until the 1998–99 academic year and only assessed and paid bursaries to Allied Health Profession students in the 1997–98 academic year. Similarly, Diploma level nursing and midwifery students were not paid their bursaries by SGU until the 1999–2000 academic year, with fifth year undergraduate medical and dental students, who commenced their first year from 1 September 1998 onwards, being incorporated into the NHS Bursary Scheme from the 2002–03 academic year.
	NHS student bursaries are not taxable and were not taxable in 1997.

Obesity

Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the National Institute for Clinical Excellence will assess the efficacy of low carbohydrate diets as part of its obesity guidance; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The focus of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's work is broad and does not include investigations into any particular weight loss strategy. Where there is good evidence of effectiveness, dietary advice including the role of low-fat, low-carbohydrate and very low-energy diets will be considered.

Patients Forums

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many members of patients' forums have resigned since 1 December 2003; and what percentage turnover in membership this represents.

Rosie Winterton: Since 1 December 2003, 7,614 members have been recruited to patients' forums, of whom 1,609, or 21 per cent., have resigned. Current membership is 4,809, which is the highest since forum establishment.

Practice-based Commissioning

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Healthwhat steps he is taking to encourage uptake of practice-based commissioning; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The Department has issued two sets of guidance clarifying how practice-based commissioning will operate. Furthermore, external stakeholders have been involved in producing practical booklets aimed at helping practices and primary care trusts with local implementation. A communications strategy has also been developed which highlights the benefits that practice-based commissioning can bring to both patients and those who work in the national health service. Officials are also considering what more can be done to encourage uptake.

Premium Rate Phone Lines

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Healthwhat his Department's policy is on the cost for patients' friends and relatives of calling patients in hospital through premium rate lines operable through bedside telephones; if he will publish guidance given to NHS trusts on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: Patients in national health service hospitals have requested personal use of a telephone to remain in contact with family and friends. This is provided through the patient power system and over 75,000 beds in NHS trusts have this service.
	There are four companies licensed to provide these services and they are responsible for all aspects of installation, managing and running the service.
	Contracts are entered into by individual trusts, which will set out in the contract an agreed schedule of charges, including the cost of incoming calls to patients.
	Three suppliers, covering 69,000 beds, include a message notifying callers at the outset of the call what the cost will be. The fourth, which provides a service to the remaining 6,000 beds, will shortly be including a similar message at all its sites.
	Bedside televisions and telephones are an additional service to patients. It is still possible for friends and relatives to contact a hospital through its main switchboard and then be transferred to a nurses' station to enquire about their relative's health.
	NHS Estates commissioned the British Market Research Bureau to carry out a survey to conduct research into patient and staff satisfaction with the bedside communication and entertainment systems. Over 300 patients and nearly 100 staff were interviewed at six NHS hospitals between October and November 2004.
	88 per cent. of patients said that they were satisfied with the services.
	95 per cent. of patients chose to pay for services offered.
	Patients said the most important reason for using the system was to make phone calls without having to ask a member of staff for help or go to a public pay phone.
	The patient bedside entertainment system provides a vital direct link with the outside world for NHS patients. The results of the recent survey confirm that the service is useful in improving the patient's stay in hospital.

Psoriasis

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on levels of psoriasis in the population;
	(2)  what improvements he is making in (a) treatments and (b) services for patients suffering from psoriasis;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of general practitioner consultations for psoriasis that took place in the last year for which figures are available;
	(4)  if he will estimate the number of working days lostin the population as a result of psoriasis in each year.

Stephen Ladyman: Data on the incidence of psoriasis is not available centrally. However, the Psoriasis Association estimates that the condition affects approximately two per cent, of the United Kingdom population.
	Information on the number of general practitioner consultations for psoriasis is not collected centrally, nor are figures covering the number of working days lost as a result of the condition.
	In England, primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for deciding which health services the local population requires and ensuring that these services are provided. We have asked the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to establish the clinical and cost effectiveness of efalizumab and etanercept within their licensed indications for the treatment of psoriasis and to produce guidance for the national health service in England and Wales. We expect NICE to publish guidance in October 2005. PCTs are obliged to provide appropriate funding where treatments have been recommended by NICE.

Psychiatric Treatment

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Leicester South have had psychiatric treatment since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not available in the format requested.

SANE

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the charity SANE following withdrawal of funding for 2004–05 concerning the effects of this withdrawal on the organisation.

Rosie Winterton: The Department and SANE have conducted a number of discussions regarding funding for SANELINE. The Department has paid SANE a total of £2 million in respect of the two year contract for the SANELINE service. The contract came to an end on 31 March 2005. SANE is seeking additional unqualified payments because it alleges that some of the payments were delayed. The Department will continue to seek to resolve this matter with SANE.
	SANE is eligible to apply for Government funding streams aimed at the voluntary and community sector.
	The chair of the Mental Health Helplines Partnership (MHHP), of which SANE was until recently a member, has written to SANE offering the MHHP's support. The Department has indicated to the chair of the MHHP that it would offer advice and support to the MHHP in this matter.

Scanning (Waiting Times)

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many out-patients diagnosed as 'routine' waited for an ultrascan for longer than (a) two weeks, (b) one month, (c) three months, (d) six months and (e) nine months in each NHS trust in England in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many out-patients diagnosed as routine are waiting for an (a) ultrascan and (b) ultrasound scan, broken down by NHS trust in England;
	(3)  how many out-patients diagnosed as urgent are waiting for an ultra sound scan, broken down by NHS trust in England.

John Hutton: This information is not collected centrally.

Scanning (Waiting Times)

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions took place between his Department and the County Durham and Tees Valley strategic health authority about reducing waiting times for scans in County Durham;
	(2)  what discussions took place between his Department and (a) the Chester-le-Street and Durham primary care trust and (b) Derwentside primary care trust concerning the reduction of waiting times for scans in County Durham.

Melanie Johnson: As part of the recent capacity planning exercise, the Department met with all strategic health authorities (SHAs) to discuss their plans for delivering the 2005–06 to 2007–08 public service agreements. It is for SHAs to discuss and agree these plans with their local primary care trusts. We expect these plans to be formally agreed with the Department in May.

Schizophrenia

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Home Office and his Department work together in developing public information publicising the risks of developing schizophrenia from cannabis use aimed at (a) early age users, (b) carers, (c) chronic users and (d) professionals.

Melanie Johnson: The Department and the Home Office work closely together in publicising the health risks of all illegal drugs, including cannabis.
	Both Departments, supported by the Department for Education and Skills, fund and manage the FRANK campaign, which informs young people and their parents, carers and families about the effects and risks of taking illicit drugs. The risks associated with cannabis use, including mental health illness, are documented. A FRANK information pack for practitioners, Communicating the health risks of cannabis use", was developed and approved by both Departments and published in 2004. Included is material that focuses specifically on young non-users, light users and those contemplating use. It also includes materials aimed at heavy chronic users. They draw attention to the important mental health risks of cannabis, including the risk that use can trigger serious mental health problems and that there is concern that people who use cannabis a lot when they are young may be vulnerable to mental health problems later in life. These will continue to be updated in the light of emerging evidence. Materials aimed specifically at cannabis users with mental health problems, their carers and the professionals who work with them are currently in development by the Home Office and the Department following consultation with key stakeholders.

Stroke Care

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on improving care facilities for stroke patients in (a) Leicester and (b) England in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: This information is not held centrally. The complex nature of the delivery of stroke services means that we are unable to monitor expenditure. It is for primary care trusts, in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders, to determine how best to use their funds locally to meet national priorities for stroke services.

Tuberculosis

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in implementing stopping tuberculosis in England.

Melanie Johnson: Work has started to implement some key areas of the tuberculosis action plan, including:
	Publication of new media material to raise awareness among professions.
	Launch of a new mobile X-ray unit in London on World TB Day (24 March 2005) to enhance case finding for difficult to reach groups.
	Funding to the Health Protection Agency to help the top 10 TB areas implement local actions in line with the aims of the TB action plan.
	Review of the BCG immunisation programme by the BCG sub-group of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
	Work with London TB groups to enhance service delivery and improve treatment completion rates.
	The effectiveness of these initiatives and projects and the impact on the prevalence of disease will be monitored. However, data on TB is compiled retrospectively and we will not have robust information for another two years.
	Future work will address other areas of the plan.

University Hospital, North Durham

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  at what capacity the existing NHS scanner at the University Hospital North Durham was working in each month since April 2004;
	(2)  what the capital costs were of providing the equipment to undertake CT and MRI scans at the University Hospital, North Durham;
	(3)  what the running costs of the equipment used for CT and MRI scans at the University Hospital, North Durham were in each year since purchase of the equipment.

Melanie Johnson: holding answers 4 April 2005
	While information on the capital costs of trusts is held centrally, it cannot be analysed individual assets.
	The average cost of a computerised tomography (CT) scanner is around £450,600 to £500,000, excluding value added tax (VAT). A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner is around £700,000 to £750,000, excluding VAT.
	These costs are only guides and would vary depending on equipment supplier and configuration. They only cover the scanners themselves and do not include any peripheral equipment needed to provide the service.
	Information on the running costs and current capacity of equipment is not held centrally.

Waiting Times (North-west)

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his assessment is of the change in patient waiting times since 1997 in (a) Liverpool, (b) Merseyside and (c) the north-west.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 4 April 2005
	The information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		Number of patients waiting for in-patient admission 1997 and 2005 (commissioner based)—January 2005
		
			  Patients waiting for admission by month waiting 
			 Primary care trust (PCT)/Strategic health authority (SHA) Total waiting 0–2 months 3–5 months 6–8 months 9–12 months 12–15 months 
		
		
			 North Liverpool PCT 2,296 1,815 394 87 0 0 
			 Central Liverpool PCT 4,186 2,832 960 394 0 0 
			 South Liverpool PCT 1,656 1,123 394 139 0 0 
			 Liverpool total 8,138 5,770 1,748 620 0 0 
			
			 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA 37,541 24,199 9,916 3,425 0 1 
			 Greater Manchester SHA 52,804 36,382 12,868 3,554 0 0 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA 42,938 28,182 10,734 4,015 6 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Patients waiting for admission by month waiting 
			 Primary care trust (PCT)/Strategic health authority (SHA) 15–17 months 18–20 months 21–23 months 24 plus Percentage waiting <3 months Percentage waiting <6 months 
		
		
			 North Liverpool PCT 0 0 0 0 79.1 96.2 
			 Central Liverpool PCT 0 0 0 0 67.7 90.6 
			 South Liverpool PCT 0 0 0 0 67.8 91.6 
			 Liverpool total 0 0 0 0 70.9 92.4 
			
			 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA 0 0 0 0 64.5 90.9 
			 Greater Manchester SHA 0 0 0 0 68.9 93.3 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA 0 0 0 0 65.6 90.6 
		
	
	
		March 1997
		
			  Patients waiting for admission by month waiting 
			  Total waiting 0–2 months 3–5 months 6–8 months 9–12 months 12–15 months 
		
		
			 Liverpool HA 13,146 7,219 2,857 1,528 956 427 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA 50,907 25,261 13,053 7,731 4,489 336 
			 Greater Manchester SHA 76,328 40,258 17,155 10,313 6,645 1,646 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA 66,359 34,091 15,334 9,079 6,315 1,361 
		
	
	
		
			  Patients waiting for admission by month waiting 
			  15–17 months 18–20 months 21–23 months 24 plus Percentage waiting <3 months Percentage waiting <6 months 
		
		
			 Liverpool HA 132 26 1 0 54.9 76.6 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA 31 6 0 0 49.6 75.3 
			 Greater Manchester SHA 283 28 0 0 52.7 75.2 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA 152 26 1 0 51.4 74.5 
		
	
	
		Percentage reduction in list size since 1997
		
			  Percentage 
		
		
			 Liverpool HA -38 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA -26 
			 Greater Manchester SHA -31 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA -35

Social Care (Direct Payments)

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has commissioned on the attitude of staff employed in the social care profession towards direct payments.

Stephen Ladyman: We have not commissioned or conducted a study on the attitude of staff employed in the social care profession towards direct payments.